Paths Crossing
by Jay FicLover
Summary: Chapter13!She was left all alone, lost and hopeless, with a grief she couldn't bear. He was trapped in a lonlieness he couldn't overcome. That is, until their paths were crossed.Side Story to What Lies Ahead.
1. Prologue

A/N: Like I promised, this is the fic where I try to describe the moment Goku meets Serenity and she frees him from the dragon realm. This will most probably NOT be a one-shot, though. I'm highly considering making something longer out of this.

This fic is the prequel of my other fic "What Lies Ahead". I highly recommend you read that one before you read this. Even if they are two different stories, they're highly related to one another, and the events in WLA chronologically (ehr, at least I think so! You'll know why I'm doubtting if you read WLA). The events in this fic are more understandable and enjoyable if you've read WLA first.

_Paths Crossing_

It had been so many years since the last time he had seen his loved ones, anyone would have thought he would have forgotten everything about them already. But the small transparent sphere, that was always appearing before him whenever he summoned it in this often deserted area of the Eternal Dragons' Kingdom, would relieve his home sickness by showing him the faces of his friends and family -what they were doing, where they were- and that way he would know if they were well or not, see them as they aged, and eventually died.

They parted slowly, one by one, until there came a time that only his lively granddaughter remained: once a youthful teenager, now a withered old lady, she made it her business to maintain her heritage by teaching it to her mischievous grandson, who had been named after him, his very namesake.

And what a namesake he was.

Pity, though, he couldn't tell that to Pan. Or of how proud of her he actually was... She would surely die before he had any chance to return, they would never get another glimpse at one another again, and she was the very last of the very people he had sacrificed himself for.

The irony...

A grandchild was never supposed to die before their grandparent.

But, then again, when had ever their lives been what other people called 'normal'?

Reflecting, he decided that, if he had to make the choice again now, he would make the same. He had done it before in the past, thus being absent during his youngest's early years... True, that time it hadn't been the best decision, but this last time, though, it had been different: he had known there was no other choice.

So, this time, he didn't regret it.

Then why did he feel this strong need to be close to them, even from afar, just one single more time?

He was lonely, that's why... He would never have thought he would grow tired of training, yet he _had_. Shenlong had provided him with all the facilities, the souls of many legendary warriors had been summoned to teach him. He had learned quite a few new techniques and developed even some of his saiyan psychic abilities... Not to mention Bardock, the father he had never met, had come to him in spirit also and taught him of his people, giving him all the knowledge he would have had, had he been raised a proper member of the warrior race he belonged.

Yet it wasn't enough: he had no one to share it with.

No one to share the endless free time or the fact that he was finally an adult again...his body having aged slowly till it reached the appearance of a man in his thirties. He smiled to himself: such a simple fact would have made his long lost wife ecstatic: she really hadn't taken it well when he was turned into an adult in the body of a child.

Now, she would never be able to enjoy with him his regained adulthood.

So there he was, once again, comfortably meditating, sitting, like many times before, on the grounds of the never ending magical lands, gazing at his dear grandchild and her apprentice through the sphere. Pan was currently watching Goku and Vegeta Jr. go at it in their last encounter of the Martial Arts Tournament.

Just seeing those two brought so many memories of being the same age and preparing for the same tournament with his friends, then meeting his wife, Chichi, and starting his family... He felt a tightness in his heart. He lowered his head and sighed...

"You want to see them again, don't you?"

Goku inmediately raised his head at the sudden female voice and turned to stare at the stranger, but saw no one.

"Who's there?" he asked, already getting up and taking a fighting stance. Decades of being trapped in Shenglon's world had shown him not every visitor was trustworthy. Male _or_ female.

"Please calm yourself" said the voice, so soft and melodious he felt himself unable to resist the impulse to obey "I mean no harm."

Goku looked all around him searching.

"Then please show yourself" he responded, letting his guard down a bit "I feel uncomfortable not being able to see you."

Not long had the words left his mouth, a bright silver light shinned before him, and engulfed all his vision. Goku covered his eyes with his hand, and when he lowered it, he found himself standing in front of the most heavenly and exotic creature he had seen in a long time.

Her hair and eyes were pure silver, so bright that it was almost blinding. Yet, one couldn't help but realize the hardness hidden in that penetrating gaze.

Her complexion so fair that she seemed ethereal, almost unreal... A fairy-like being so different than the grotesque looking ones generally roaming the Eternal Realm. She was wearing a white sailor fuku, a long cape reaching the floor from her shoulders, her right hand holding a long staff.

For a moment, he thought he recalled once seeing a somehow very similar drawing or picture, in a book on legends, long time ago. But he couldn't be certain. She honestly resembled what he had imagined angels or goddesses looked like as a child, and for several minutes the only thing he was able to do was stare at her in wonder.

"Son Goku?" She addressed him, looking at him straight in the eyes.

Goku nodded.

"Who are you?"

The stranger took a step towards him.

"The eternal dragon in charge of you told me you would be here. My name isn't important..." she told him, "all that is to be said is that currently I am known by many as the Queen of the Stars, Cosmos" she added after a while, though a bit dejectedly.

The saiyan didn't know what to respond to that. He also had never heard of such a title. He didn't know what it was supposed to mean.

He just repeated, "Shenlong sent you?"

"He did" she nodded.

He felt her aura and knew she was telling the truth, but asked himself if she could really be another trainer the dragon had sent to him. However, he seriously doubted it: she hardly looked like a fighter at all... At least, not a martial artist. What reason could the dragon have had to send her? Could it be this lady possessed a special knowledge she could teach him?

"Son Goku" she continued as she approached him, never taking her eyes of him.

"I've come to free you" she stated simply.

Well... now she had his attention.

He took a few seconds to digest it.

"Free me?" he repeated. _Did the word _freedom_ still mean anything?_

The queen of stars, or Cosmos, nodded. She frowned "You're trapped here, aren't you? You've been for a hundred years..." she trailed off. He just looked at her in expectancy "Well, I've come to correct that. I'm setting you free."

Goku just wasn't ready to believe her. "You have that kind of power?" he inquired, somewhat doubtfully. She didn't seem to notice.

"I do". She said so emotionlessly.

The saiyan let out some breath he had been holding. His eyes traveled through the deserted landscape. Would he really ever be able to leave this forsaken place?

He looked back at Cosmos.

"Why?" was all he answered.

Cosmos' eyes seemed to soften. "Cause someone who has done as much good as you didn't deserve this kind of fate" she whispered slowly. "Someone like you should have never been meant for such an end."

Her new tone surprised him. She had sound a bit harsh before.

"You know about me?" His eyes searched hers. For the first time since her arrival, he seemed to really see her.

Cosmos merely smiled.

"I know all that matters" she said softly. He raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you, really?" he questioned. Cosmos' gaze fell sideways.

"I am everyone and no one" she answered "Who I am is not important, for I'm no longer who I used to be. Long time ago, I had an identity, one that was worth mentioning, though I lost it, but that is irrelevant" Goku only managed to open his lips slightly after such a speech.

"The only thing relevant is that I'll free you from this prison. Because I want to do so." was her final statement.

Then, not waiting for his reaction, she walked away from him. She had already advanced some steps, her cape flowing behind her. Goku was gonna start after her, intending on asking more questions, then she stopped and turned her head to him. Goku was taken aback by the rather unfocused look she gave him.

"I'll go to Shenlong now. I'll give him the pure energy he wants from you. That'll be enough to end your debt towards him".

With no other words, she just crunched and then jumped into the air gracefully. Goku couldn't understand what she intended until her cape seemed to start retracting in itself to take another form. A pair of pure white wings materialized on her back and she took off to the air, flying towards what Goku knew was the direction that lead to Shenlong's cavern.

For a moment, Goku just stared after her figure getting farther and farther away from him, then her words struck him with more force than anything in his entire existance. He quickly took after her.

"WAIT!" he yelled "What are you trying to do??!!" he went faster. A sudden feeling of dread filled him.

He knew she could no longer hear him. She had gotten so far away at such a speed that it amazed him. He would actually have to turn Super to manage to catch her. He was going to do so, when the spot that was the silver haired angel disappeared. Right before his eyes.

He stopped mid-air.

_What? Where is she??!!_ He screamed in his mind. What if she had gone to another dragon? He wondered in anguish.

His heart raced. He _had _to find her, he had to prevent her from doing it. This was crazy! He had to stop her before...--

An enormous pillar of blinding light raised to the heavens, interrupting his thoughts. Goku's eyes widened like never before as he saw it getting larger and larger in every direction at an alarming speed, covering everything in it's path like a nuclear wave. He was so stunned he was only able to head backwards a bit, covered himself with his arms and screamed when the light engulfed him...

_It must be like that explosion that created the universe... This must mean she did it. Why, God, why couldn't I stop her._

Those were his last thoughts before he lost consciousness.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A ray of sunlight broke through his eyelids, and Goku opened his eyes slowly, only to shut them again and lift a hand up to the back of hi head, where a sudden pain had started to develop.

"You should try to take it easy, saiyan warrior. Taking such a burst of Primal Energy head on at a single time is very hard on a mortal"

Goku didn't turn to his side. He didn't need to do it to know who the owner of the voice was. He just stayed half sitting on the ground clutching his poor mistreated head.

"What do you mean, Shelong, what 'Primal Energy'?"

"Primal Energy is very much like Ki energy and magic energy united. It's the type of energy the universe was made of, the energy of creation ". The booming voice answered.

Goku grinned half heartedly while still massaging his skull. _He, I knew it…_ Then he stayed still.

"What?" It came out as a muffled cry. Shenlong just chuckled.

"Look around you, little mortal" he suggested "Does this still look like the Eternal Realm to you?"

Goku opened is eyes fully and looked all around himself. Indeed, the giant figure of Shenlong was floating at his right side, high up above him. But the landscape he lied his eyes on wasn't the Realm of Dragons he had gotten used to wake up in, no. It was a deserted beach, golden sand reflecting the rays of the sun as much as the deep blue waters all around it.

Goku just stayed still, taking it all in. A few minutes later he reacted.

"Is... are we on Earth?"

Shenlong stayed silent for some seconds, his ruby pupil-less eyes apparently concentrated on his charge.

"Yes."

Goku turned to look up at him.

"Why, how?" his gaze fixed on the dragon's. Shenlong's was the same.

"Don't you know, 'little one'?"

Goku looked at the dragon questioningly. It had been decades since the mythical creature had last called him by that nickname. It had been given to him because of his rather small size the moment he was taken, a hundred years ago, but he was logically no longer called that way after he regained his adulthood. The dragon was acting somewhat strange...

Then it hit him.

"Cosmos" Goku whispered "She did this."

"That's right." Shenlong answered. "She did what she said, she freed you. You're no longer forced to stay in our world."

Goku looked to the ground with shame.

"Why did you let her?" he murmured bitterly "She didn't have anything to do with the dragonballs, did she? Why did you let her do it?"

"It was her will. I complied."

Goku turned to him furiously. Never before had he thought he would be capable to talk in that manner to the dragon.

"'You complied'?! You let an innocent woman sacrifice herself! All you and your species care about is getting your damn pure energy! You don't even care _where_ it comes from!" He stood up and faced the enormous being in complete fury. "You just take what you need and ignore the suffering you're causing!"

Shenlong remained emotionless "It is true we dragons need the energy of a pure heart in order to maintain our world, we turn that energy into the Primal Energy I spoke about, which keeps the balance of our dimension. But achieving that is nothing irrelevant, little mortal. Without the balance, our dimension would turn unstable and it would affect all the other dimensions. Yours also."

Goku just snorted.

"From the moment you took me you've been telling me how the sacrifice of another mortal would save me! Well, if you so wanted the energy you needed, you could have kept using ME!" he yelled "She gave her life force so that you let me go, but the deal was only between you and me! Now, you practically let that woman kill herself! "

The dragon didn't seem phased at his outburst.

"The woman is not dead." it replied simply.

Now Goku was lost. He blinked "What do you mean?"

"Serenity didn't give her life force. She tried to, yes, but the Ginzuishou didn't let her. It wouldn't let the Kibou no Hikari to end her own existence. She, too, is important for the balance. So the sacred powers of the Moon Goddess trapped within the silver jewel prevented the moon child from taking her life, and gave us the Primal Energy needed to keep the balance for a millennia." Shenlong answered "In a way, we've all gained from the kindness of Selene".

"What are you talking about? Who are Selene and Serenity?"

"Selene is known as the goddess of the moon, but she's more importantly the Goddess of Light. Serenity, your woman, is her descendant."

"That's her name? She would only say they called her Cosmos..." Goku thought for a while "She descends from a goddess? From one of the Kais?"

It was almost as if Shenlong was shaking his massive head.

"No. The Kais aren't deities. They're the ones that took it upon themselves to guard and watch over your dimension when the elder deities became omniscient. They aren't mortals either, but they're lower creatures compared to the gods. They just administrate what the deities helped create"

"They didn't create everything, then? Who did?" Goku was puzzled.

"I can't answer that question, little one. We the eternal dragons don't know more than mortals".

"But, if this girl is the descendant of a goddess, then what is she?"

"All you have to know is that she's the one charged with the balance between good and evil. Because of her purest heart, she was destined to become the Universal Protector... Saiyan warrior, this isn't a simple mortal we are talking about. She's been predestined to exist since the beginning of time. As Selene's child, she now holds the purest heart in the universe. It is that quality what makes her willing to make sacrifices like the one you just saw." Shenlong looked at the saiyan intensely.

Goku was stunned beyond words "This is so much..." he murmured "But that's beside the point. Someone almost gave their life for me... and they don't even know me" he looked at the dragon expectantly, as if waiting for it to explain.

"Cosmos must have found out about you and decided to do this. The reasons for her decision, though" it stated "are hers alone to understand. Not even us can tell what the Kibou no Hikari is thinking"

"Kibou no Hikari?" Goku questioned

"One of the many names she's been known by."

"So many names..." Goku wondered. "She said her identity was not important since she no longer was who she used to be. What did she mean?"

"The story of her life is well known among my kind. She used to be a gentle ruler from a planet very similar to your Earth. Then, Chaos, the entity known for being ultimate evil, attacked her people and killed everyone important to her, leaving her as the sole survivor"

"You mean, she's all alone?"

"As the Universal Protector, she must fight evil in solitude for eternity. As I said, Chaos, this entity, is the incarnation of ultimate evil. The being that infuses hatred, cruelty and all the dark feelings among mortals. All the enemies you have fought, little one, were just mortals like yourself who were tempted by its darkness. Cosmos, the legendary warrior, is its predestined opponent, though it isn't known if she'll ever be able to defeat it. Chaos wanted to know if the prophecy was true. It suspected Cosmos could be dormant within the descendants of Selene, so it decided to awake her. That's why it slaughtered all Serenity's loved ones. It knew that was probably what it took for Cosmos to awaken."

"She went through all that... alone... And she's still alone? That's no better than how I was" Goku whispered.

"As I said, it wasn't her choice. It was a matter of fate"

Goku seemed deep in thought, digesting all this. He turned to Shenlong.

"So now I'm free?" he asked.

"You are" came the plain answer.

Goku's eyes widened slightly. Could he have been asleep and dreaming? He had hoped for that single thing for so long, thinking it wasn't possible, and then, one day, this Serenity woman appears out of nowhere and frees him. Just like that. It was almost unreal...

"Where is she?" he asked "I have to go in search for her. I have to at least tell her how thankful I am, there must be something I can do for her in return!"

"I do not know the exact place she has gone to. What I do know is that she has left to continue what she's been fated to, purify evil."

"Please, Shenlong, there must be a way to track her down... I _have_ to thank her! She just did something for me that nobody else was ever able to, and it almost ended up killing her. I'll also try to help and protect her from this Chaos being if I can. She's just one person! She shouldn't have to face all that alone, I can't forget about her after what she's done"

This was interesting. Shenlong would have smiled. Mortals were such unique creatures.

"Very well" he said "I'll tell you how you can find her"

Goku accepted "I appreciate it, Shenlong. I won't be able to live with myself if I don't do this. So, how do I find her?"

"There's someone who might be able to tell you of her whereabouts. It's someone who has known her since birth: the Queen of the Silver Kingdom"

"Alright" answered Goku "where do I find this queen?"

"Within her castle of the White Moon. I'll take you there" Shenlong offered. If Goku had been paying attention, he would have noticed a weird gleam in the dragon's red eyes. "But you'll have to continue from there by yourself "

"Thank you".

With that, Goku mounted on Shenlong's back. The eternal dragon lifted some more and started flying at an amazing speed, until both it and it's charge disappeared completely in the blue of the midsummer sky.

THE END

2nd A/N: Well, this text was mainly to describe how Hikari came to be. In other words, explain some of the facts told in "What Lies Ahead".

I'm open to suggestions if they don't change the basic idea of the story. Tell me what you think in a review, ok?

Jay


	2. A Tale from the Moon

A/N: Thank you for your kind reviews! Okay, guys, as you asked, here's the second chapter of this story. I hope you all love it, 'cause it did take a lot of time to write! Hehe, okay, I'll stop complaining now… Enjoy!

_Disclaimer: I don't know any of Sailor Moon or Dragon Ball/Z/GT. _

Second Chapter: _A Tale from the Moon_

After several minutes in space, they had finally arrived. Shenlong had left just seconds ago, leaving him in this solitary place. The lands were endless extensions of white sand slightly lifted up by the wind. He looked up to the dark blue sky and gazed at the stars shinning down on him, as if looking for some sort of guidance.

He sighed, he had just left a deserted realm only to end in another.

He run a hand through his spiky black hair and resumed walking towards the direction the dragon had told him. Not long after, he found himself standing in front of what looked like the ruins of an ancient palace. The place was utterly impressive, but seemed awfully desolated, yet there was this weird feeling in the air… Of calm and peace… It almost made him feel sort of welcome.

He proceeded to go in.

Soon he was walking through large dark shadowed halls, the sounds of his footsteps the only echo resonating through the ivory walls. While he advanced he stared at the rich engravings and bas-relief on the stone: they resembled several people in old fashioned clothes and mythical creatures. He recognized some of them as representations of few of the legends he had read in one of Gohan's books on Greek myths, eons ago…

Finally, he stopped in front of a spiral staircase which he climbed, leading him to a very spacious chamber. In the center of the room floor there was engraved a half circumference, resembling a crescent. He stared at it for a moment, wondering what he was supposed to do now…

Nothing happened.

"This is a waste of time…" Goku muttered to himself "There's absolutely no one here. Shenlong must have been mistaken. I won't be able to find a queen here".

He kneeled down on the floor slightly and let out a long breath of hopelessness. Just then, a soft voice addressed him.

"Do you always trust so much what your eyes tell you?"

It was without a doubt female. Goku stood up and gazed all around him, this new 'fashion' of hearing voices before seeing actual people starting to unnerve him.

"I'm right here, dear child…" the voice continued softly.

_Child? _

Goku thought to himself in a tone somewhat derogatory. After having been one unwillingly for thirty years, nobody could really blame him.

"Well, you _are_ a child to me, dear Goku. I'm millions of years old." The voice responded gently.

_Now_ Goku was getting flustered.

"Wha..?" he uttered. It only chuckled.

"You soon learn to read other people's thoughts, when you've already spent millions of years…", a silhouette started materializing on top of the up-turned crescent on the floor, lavender eyes looked at his mischievously.

"…dead." The voice finished.

The transparent figure of a regal looking woman stood in front of him.

Goku looked at his now very visible speaker. She looked awfully like Cosmos. She had silvery lavender hair up in two buns on either side of her head, and was wearing a white silky royal dress with a bow on her chest.

She seemed very familiar.

The woman tilted her head to the side. "It's been some time since the last time we met, Son Goku." She said.

He looked at her blankly.

"Do I know you?"

The silver haired woman laughed. She really had a nice laughter, it was like hearing jingle bells. "Well, of course you do".

Goku frowned. He tried to recall where he had met her. She _did _seem really familiar now.

"By the way, you never got to tell me what the reaction of your little son Goten was when he met you for the first time after seven years… He must have been awed at his new found father…" she looked at him serenely, crossing her hands over her lap.

That did it.

"Gosh! It was _you!_" Goku exclaimed. The queen smiled in satisfaction.

"I'm happy to know that you remember me, dear child" she whispered "Though it _did _take you some time…"

Goku sweatdropped.

"Hehe, I'm sorry…" he laughed, doing the classic gesture of the hand behind his head. The queen was amused.

"It's been so long it was kind of hard remembering your face…" he tried to excuse himself, and smiled at her mischievously in return. "Gee, I never got to thank you for all that! Even if we only met shortly, you _really_ showed me the real deal, then…Besides, if it hadn't been for all those things you said to me, I wouldn't have spent that day on Earth and may be Buu would have destroyed my planet…" he reflected, then grinned and approached her "Wow, I never thought I would see you again! So, how are you, huh? Still dead, right? What a bummer…" he pouted.

"Indeed…" The moon royal laughed whole heartedly. She had to admit she had missed Goku's antics. After all this years, after all that had happened to him, he hadn't changed; she hoped he never would. "So, my dear friend, what do I owe this visit?" She clasped her hands together.

Goku gulped, he had _completely_ forgotten! He rushed to respond.

"You see, I was told I could find this queen here in this place, at some 'Tower of Prayer'… I think this lady's called 'the Queen of the White Moon or Silver Kingdom' or something like that…" he explained "Do you know where I can find her?" he asked hopefully.

The heavenly woman just looked at him for a moment then laughed again, hugging herself slightly. Goku looked at her baffled.

"Uh… Did I say something funny?" he asked clueless.

The woman tried to compose herself.

"As a matter of fact, Goku… I think I might know this 'queen' you're taking about…" she told him. He grinned at her happily.

"Really?" he said "Do you know where she is?"

"Actually I do…" she answered. She looked at him fully "I know where she is… because _I _am the Queen of the White Moon, I am Queen Serenity of the Silver Kingdom…" she trailed off.

Goku looked at her perplexed.

"_You_ are her..?" he asked in astonishment, then he was assaulted by a flash of memories "That's right! I remember in Other World you had already told me you were queen! I had completely forgotten about that." He lowered his eyes while he recalled.

Suddenly he lifted his gaze towards her face. "You also have her same name!" he realized.

The Queen looked at him questioningly for a while, then it seemed as she already suspected exactly _who_ he was talking about.

"I'm looking for this girl who is also called Serenity" Goku continued "I was told you could tell me where I can find her. She has silver hair like yours though she wears it loose, and she said people call her Cosmos… Do you know her?"

Serenity's eyes widened, then they saddened. "So, she _really_ has become Cosmos… has she" she whispered.

It was a statement, not a question, and Goku was about to ask about her change in mood when she lowered her eyes and murmured:

"My poor daughter…"

This time, it was the turn for Goku's eyes to widen.

"She is your daughter?? _That_ is why the dragon said you've known her since birth!" he exclaimed "But, if you've been dead this long… then how old is she?!"

The Moon Queen gazed at him resigned. "It's a long story…" she started "The Serenity you've meet is the reincarnation of my daughter."

Goku was suddenly reminded of Evil Buu and Uub.

"Eons ago, when I was alive" she proceeded "I ruled over the Moon Kingdom. We were a peaceful race, and we had good relations with the rest of the planets of the Solar System. That was why an alliance was formed. The people of eight of the other planets and us, and also the rulers of each kingdom… we were all deeply connected to each other. We had formed a profound sense of friendship, collaboration and mutual assistance. That is why the princesses of some of those kingdoms became very close friends with my daughter, Princess Serenity. Four of them, the princesses of Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus, had practically grown up beside her… With time those four became so protective they chose to become her bodyguards… As for the rest, three of the other princesses, the princesses of Neptune, Saturn and Uranus, dedicated their life and powers to protect all the planets of the Solar System from outer threats. The other one, the princess of Pluto, took it upon herself to watch over the Sacred Gates that existed on her planet since the ancient ages and permitted entrance to the passage trough time…"

The queen paused for a moment and then continued.

"But all the eight of them swore their loyalty to my daughter and to me… It was believed that the people of the moon were the ones capable of maintaining that peace and prosperity, being stated that it was our pacifist, peaceful and self giving nature what had seeped over the other civilizations, managing to create this bond of brotherhood among them and between each other. It was a great honor, which gave the royal house of the moon a great amount of authority… but, with it, also a great responsibility…" the dead ruler sighed, as if she were recalling how she herself had experienced that heavy weight on her shoulders.

"This moment in history" she added "is known by those who do remember or know about it as the Silver Millenium Era..."

It was almost as if she had been talking to herself more than to him. Either way, Goku was fascinated. He liked the concept of entire planets coexisting together in harmony. He almost wished he had been born during those times.

"What happened to your daughter?" he asked.

The Queen smiled sweetly in remembrance.

"My daughter, Princess Serenity, she was a child of innocence and mischief that embodied all the virtues and ideals of our people…Since her very first years of existence, she had showed an extraordinary capacity for kindness, empathy, compassion and love. She would give it everything in herself to see those she loved happy, and she loved a lot of people. It wasn't long before those around her would be attracted by the brightness of her soul… That was the reason many said she had the purest heart in the universe due to having inherited fully the ever-understanding and never-ending forgiveness of the goddess Selene, our ancestor."

Goku nodded, a bit entranced "Shenlong, the eternal dragon that brought me here, told me a little about it… Are you and your daughter really the descendants of this deity?" he asked a little amazed.

Serenity smiled once more.

"It is a knowledge we carry within our souls along each generation" she answered. "People used to say it gave us special powers. It can't possibly be explained, but it's a certainty that's been there, within our minds and hearts, from a time we can no longer remember."

"Who is she, this goddess? Is it true she's like an elder deity?" he questioned, remembering Shenlong's description.

The royal woman seemed doubtful.

"During the Silver Millenium, many believed that Selene was one of the original deities that was present during the Creation; though, what part exactly she took in it, I do not know. The only possible guidance we have as to who she was, or even what she was, is a title that has been associated to her since for ever: the 'Goddess of Light'. What that means, however, is something not even I myself am able to tell… The same happens with the explanation of how we, her descendants, came to be. It's a mystery that has been in our family for as long as we can remember."

The queen paused, as if deep in thought.

"An ancient legend, though, said that eons ago, all mortals in the universe were seduced by their desires of evil quality. They were tainted by the darkness, which brought about general wars and their consequential massive deaths and suffering. The females of each and all species in all distant galaxies grieved the loss of their loved ones, their spouses and lovers, their sons and friends slaughtered because of a war born of a hatred to which no one could find a cause any longer… It is said Selene was one of the first elder deities that heard their clamor, and convinced the other gods to answer their prayers. They all decided that it was usual that wars where something carried by men and suffered by women. That is how a new kind of soldiers, the Sailor Scouts or Senshi, were created."

The saiyan almost raised an eyebrow there "They created their own army?"

Serenity had to chuckle. She shook her head.

"No" she replied "that would have been like stopping the wars with another. The senshi aren't like the traditional concept of a warrior, they really don't fight people… They are basically female warriors who only fight that which most of the time has been the _real _cause behind mortals harming each other: darkness itself. They are most importantly purifiers that use the powers of the elements to purify this darkness and the beings that have been created by _or_ with it…"

The Earth raised saiyajin considered this "Powers from the elements… You mean like water, air, fire and soil?"

"Not just those, but lightning and ice too, and countless of other elements also that exist on other planets even if they do not on your Earth… Sometimes, even, the primal element of a planet wasn't an element of the weather or any other so tangible, the inhabitants could become another important source of power too, since they were also part of that planet's nature. Because of this, the primal element of a planet could be a more subtle force, but also a strong one… This force could be a good feeling, like love or loyalty, or a quality of its people, like silence… or even an element they had power over… like time. Rumor has it that some of the elder gods, that had many names, even named the planets, asteroids or stars in question after themselves."

"He, that would be fun, having an entire planet named like oneself"

The female descendant of a goddess couldn't agree more with that. For a long time, during the Silver Millenium, some had known the White Moon as Lunaria, one of the Light Goddess's other names.

"The legends says Selene asked the other elder deities to grant their powers to all the planets, stars and asteroids possible, so that the Star Seeds of the chosen, that are their souls taking the form of a jewel, would be able to connect to their most powerful elements and turn into Sailor Crystals. It is with their Sailor Crystal that the sailor soldier can manipulate the most powerful elements on their planet or in its essence. The more evolved a soldier is, the more connected they are with their elemental powers and the better they learn to control them. These elements also in a way protect and watch for them. On the other hand, if the scouts are ever forced to kill a mortal because they can't purify him, that mortal is usually granted another chance by being reborn through the Galaxy Cauldron, the place where all star seeds are born, and the place where souls must go to when they're allowed to be reborn… It's a place the elder gods created for that purpose… The host must be utterly seduced by the darkness inside him in order for that not to happen."

The tall warrior whistled "That is certainly an advantage, they're all given another opportunity…"

"However, most senshi consider killing a last resort. If not, they are a distortion from what a _real _senshi should be… Even the scouts aren't totally immune to darkness, but when that isn't a product of some dark influence but of their own selfishness or blindness, sooner or later they will be stripped of their powers."

"But" Goku prompted "did Selene get what she wanted? Did those soldiers manage to restore the peace?"

"According to the myth, they did. Their mission didn't end there, though. They were created to fight evil and darkness, protecting mortals from it for eternity".

Goku had always enjoyed story tales, but this tale had the spice added to it that it had been _real_. He slowly sat on the floor cross-legged, in front of the spirit, to listen to her more comfortably.

"Does that mean this 'Sailor Crystals' make them immortal?" he asked after a while.

The silver haired woman shook her head.

"No. Even when gifted with these special powers, they're still like any other mortal and vulnerable to death. They also have a normal life span according to that of the rest of their race. One way for a senshi to maintain their legacy is, when having children, teaching it to them, and if the child embraces it and has also a good heart, then they will also have their star seed turned into a Sailor Crystal and be able to control the same elements. It is the same with the child's descendants. For example, the queens of the rest of the planets in the Silver Millenium used to be senshi who were chosen as rulers by their own people. They were able to pass the guardianship as a heritance to their children, thus the princesses of the planets that had sworn their loyalty to the royal house of the moon were also senshi."

"Wow" uttered Goku. These 'soldiers' sounded interesting.

"And you say this type of fighter still exists nowadays?" he asked after a while.

She nodded.

"How come I never came across one of them?" he wondered, disappointed.

Serenity sighed while she thought what she could answer. As privileged as she had been until now to see all the main events in the galaxy from her Tower of Prayer, she didn't hold all the answers.

"It is true one sailor soldier can be born on every star, every planet and asteroid…" she started "But one person must be chosen in order for that to happen. The dormant powers of the elements of that star are the ones that do that, but it is a thing that sometimes takes some time, because usually the chosen isn't revealed until a very serious situation demands it. Other times, however, the reason for the star or planet not having a senshi is just a mystery."

The queen looked intensely at the Earth's hero. "In your planet, dear Goku, you and your friends for a great while took care of every possible threat that could ever come to your home world. That is why a senshi wasn't really needed. The same happens with the namekians: they had lately become such peaceful of a race they didn't attract much darkness, and you yourself eradicated the only danger that had come about that planet in a long period."

That made Goku feel proud of himself a great deal, though an innate sense of modesty prevented him from showing it. He just grinned goofily, lifted a hand to the back of his head and giggled in a silly manner.

It was amazing how being able to meet an old friend of his again had made him comfortable enough to act more like his old self, like how he used to be before Shenlong took him.

This kind and wise lady had had the same effect on him the first time they met, in Other World, long time ago. She just made him feel as if she were the mother he never new, and him her new found son.

On her part, Serenity was thinking it was somehow amusing seeing such strong of a warrior become nervous.

The saiyan grinned "This sailor soldiers do sound interesting, though" he concluded "This Selene goddess surely did a great good for this universe if she did convince the elder gods to create them"

"That is exactly what the myth states" agreed the silver haired ruler "Then it suggests that some time after that, Selene opted to come live among us mortals for a while, to corroborate the results of their doing. They also say she chose this very planet, the White Moon… It is claimed the ancient lunarians greeted her so warmly, she accepted to be their queen for as long as she would stay. That was how the Silver Kingdom first came to be, and how Selene was first referred to as the goddess that lived on the moon, the Moon Goddess… "

He nodded in understanding.

"And that is also how she came to have mortal descendants, isn't it?" Goku offered.

"That is what the legend says… It is also supposed Selene was a very gentle ruler, with the never ending compassion and forgiveness I told you about. They say she infused those qualities upon her people, the mortals of the Silver Kingdom, among other things, like an incredible longevity…"

The saiyajin was intrigued.

"For as long as we have known, lunarians have been able to live for thousands of years"

Now he was puzzled. "Really..? Thousands of years?" He knew the spirits of dead people, if they weren't reborn, could remain in that existence for eternity. He also had in mind his own case. But this Goddess of Light had granted an incredible life span to a _whole_ civilization… No, not to a civilization, actually; to a whole _race_…

Serenity continued "She didn't do it without an important purpose, though. In exchange for this longevity, lunarians had undertaken watching over the races that were nearby, on the planets close to the moon, and helping them evolve to a higher state"

All the blank spaces were being filled on the saiyan's mind "That's how the feeling of brotherhood among the planets of the Solar System was given rise to, wasn't it? The reason why they made the alliance?"

"That is right. The lunarians were able to establish a strong friendship with all this kingdoms, with the exception of one. The people of this dissident planet were full of distrust towards lunarians and what they called their 'unnatural characteristics'. While, with time, individuals from the rest of the races befriended lunarians and many even became mates to some of them, which gifted them with the possibility of sharing lunarian's longevity, this other race didn't like lunarians and they stayed apart, never wanting to take part in the alliance made by the rest of the Solar System."

The queen looked at Goku intensely.

"This planet, dear child, was very similar to the one you lived in. The race on that planet used to travel a lot through space during the Silver Millenium. One of the planets where they settled a colony was your home world…"

Goku frowned. What was she implying?

"The race of people on this dissident planet were called 'humans', and their planet was known as the original 'Earth'".

"You mean… the human people on my planet come from this planet from your Solar System?" he was surprised.

Serenity confirmed it. "They are basically their descendants… You see, my child, during the Silver Millenium, my reign, a lot of humans from the first Earth moved to your home world and baptized it a 'second' Earth. They also took some animals, like dinosaurs, from your planet and brought them to theirs. Unfortunately, a cataclysm on the First Earth that was indirectly caused by an attack on our Solar System cut all kinds of communication between the two planets, and soon the people of both worlds forgot each other. The only slight reminder of your home world and its settlers that was left on the First Earth were ancient monuments like Stone Henge or the statues on the Island of Pascua, and the rests of those extinct dinosaurs"

Goku remained silent. All this information was so new and unexpected. Then an idea entered his thoughts.

"You said the cataclysm was the consequence of an attack. What happened?"

The queen's lavender orbs lowered to the ground and she bit her lip, filled with grief and regret.

"One maiden from Earth was greatly seduced by the dark side and freed an evil and very powerful dark entity known as Metallia. This being corrupted humans and fueled their distrust until it turned into hatred for the Moon Kingdom. The maiden leaded the Earth army against the Moon and Metallia sent an infinity of demons to attack it and the other planets of the System. Their civilizations were decimated. The queens and princesses of the planets faced them as senshi, but even with their powers, they were defeated. My daughter and her lover, the prince of the Earth who had turned to our side, they too were killed like everyone else… So I used the Imperium Silver Crystal, the sacred jewel that was a family heirloom and a gift from Selene, and used its incredible power to try to purify this evil. I only managed to seal it temporarily, though, so I knew it would someday return."

The warrior could sense this was a _very_ painful subject, so he tried to lead her attention somewhere else.

"You said your daughter was reincarnated… Was her soul sent to this Galaxy Cauldron you mentioned before?"

The lunarian's eyes stayed focused on the crescent shape engraved on the floor.

"Having used the Ginzuishou at such a degree of its power was too hard for my mortal body, so it killed me. Apart from death, though, I also obtained the granting of a wish, and I wished my spirit was allowed to guide the souls of Serenity and all those who had died unjustly during this war, and throw them through the Cauldron to be reborn."

"Why weren't you reborn also?"

"I chose not to, so that I could watch over my daughter when she became alive again. I knew the evil of Metallia would be freed from the seal I had put on it in the future, and I wanted to ensure Serenity was reminded of her previous existence and fought it. I didn't want the past to repeat itself"

Goku smiled "Serenity must be grateful to have a mother like you. You sacrificed yourself for your people and child, the same way I did for my family and planet…" He trailed off.

Queen Serenity looked at him with tenderness.

"I know you did, dear child, and I know your family and friends are also grateful to you too."

At this, Goku's mouth fell open. He immediately stood.

"You've talked to them?"

"I have. They have all missed you as much as you have been missing them, but they wanted me to tell you that they wanted you to move on and try to be happy… It saddens them to see that you've turned so depressed and lonely. I believe you will be more able to mend that now that you are free from the Dragon Realm"

Goku felt a turmoil surge inside him. Then, slowly, it started to calm. It was the guilt and pain that he had accumulated along the last hundred years that were starting to finally ease their way out. He sighed.

"So you know about all that happened with the dragons…" he whispered. "Are my friends and family alright? Are they at peace in Other World?"

The ancient queen smiled reassuringly.

"Yes they are. They've all become young again. They say it is a paradise… but that it isn't your time to join them…" she paused.

"Now, my dear Goku, you've come here for a reason, haven't you? You wanted to know where to find Serenity" the queen tilted her head and smirked.

"I should have expected that, if a handsome young man like yourself decided to wake me from my eternal rest, it would be because of my daughter…" she chuckled.

Goku only looked at her blankly for the first several minutes, wondering why she was looking at him kinda smugly…

Then he turned as red as a tomato.

"N… It's not that, I swear!!" He instantaneously waved his arms in front of him in denial and fluster.

"I have to find her because I owe her for what she's done. I also wanna find out I there is anything I can do to help her in her fight against this Chaos creature."

The queen merely grinned wider.

"Shenlong said you would be able to tell where she is…" he added reluctantly, uncomfortable "So… can you?"

The lunarian smiled and nodded.

"Your eternal dragon was right. Being descendants of Selene allowed us to form this strong bond with my daughter. Even in death, I can still tell where she is…"

The Queen of the Moon closed her eyes, lowered her face and clasped her hands over her chest in a silent prayer. Goku wondered what she was trying to do.

Then, without warning, the crescent moon birthmark on her forehead started shinning.

For the first time, Goku noticed it was the same symbol that had appeared embedded on Cosmos' forehead the moment she summoned her wings. Now, he could even recall it had replaced the previous one of a star that had been there on it before.

The only difference was that, while Queen Serenity's crescent was golden, Cosmos' crescent had been silver.

He wondered why that was.

Soon its light covered the entire chamber, but it wasn't a blinding light like the one of Cosmos. This light was intense too, but it didn't hurt the eyes.

It also felt… comforting.

The saiyan just waited to see what happened.

After a few moments, the light diminished. Goku looked into the eyes of the ancient queen as she opened them and she slowly returned the gaze.

"She is currently in the Dream Realm, Elysion." she stated simply. "It's a magical kingdom within the confines of this Solar System's planet Earth" the ruler paused.

"I should have known she wouldn't be very far." She continued "She is so much fond of this part of the galaxy; no matter how far away she goes into the universe, she always ends returning"

Goku nodded.

"So this 'First Earth' is relatively nearby, isn't it?"

"It's the very planet this moon is a satellite to, dear Goku. You won't miss it"

The saiyajin grinned. "That's an advantage for sure.You know, for some reason I can't use my Instant Transmission with Serenity; It's weird, but I could never pinpoint her Ki…Not even back there at the Eternal Realm, when she was right in front of me. I thought I had been in the dragon kingdom for so long I had forgotten how to sense Ki signals at all. Later on, I almost believed she was an android or dead, but Shenlong told me otherwise"

The moon royal seemed to know what he was talking about.

"That's because lunarians don't give off this 'Ki signal' you so much rely on. I don't really know why that is, though… Perhaps it could be because of our 'special' origins"

The queen cupped her hands in front of her. Goku saw the form of a star shaped locket materialize on top of them in the air, then it started floating towards him and stopped right at arms reach.

"Take this locket with you, my child, it will show you when you are close to Serenity. It'll show you the path towards her…"

…_May be in more ways than one. _The queen thought silently.

Goku reached for the locket and examined it. It seemed to be made of gold, but it wasn't heavy at all. Not that he would have had any problems lifting something made of that mineral, though.

He grinned to himself. This would result a very similar experience to using Bulma's dragon radars; he just wouldn't be looking for dragonballs this time —after what he had discovered about them, he doubted he would ever bring himself to rely on them again— but this time he would be looking for an actual person.

He looked towards Queen Serenity in gratitude.

"Thank you very much. How does this thing work?" he asked.

The queen entwined her hands.

"Just let it act on itself. You'll know what to do once it starts working" she replied.

Goku didn't understand what she meant but he decided he would trust her judgement.

"Well, thanks again. You've been a great help… again" he smiled at her "I'll tell Serenity you said hi when I find her"

The queen smiled one last time.

"I would really appreciate that" sheanswered.

Goku smiled back. Suddenly, he felt a bit sad.

"Will I ever see you again? I mean, I really like you…" he whispered "I don't want to think this is gonna be the last time we meet"

Queen Serenity looked at him with tenderness.

"I hope not too, my child. Just seeing you, even for a few moments, has brought a little joy to my eternal monothony…But we can not know for sure. May be, someday, we'll get to see each other once more…"

Goku's eyes were a bit moist. He couldn't help but feel torn having to leave this kind gentle woman to her eternal loneliness. True, she could still go to Other World and interact with other spirits like herself, but she chose not to so that she could watch over her daughter.

She was really an amazing being.

He bid his farewell and she did too as she started fading again. Soon, he was left alone in an empty room. Now he could no longer delay his departure.

As he walked his way out through the echoing halls he recalled everything she had told him… He realized Cosmos had had a very complex past.

But then again, so had him.

Once he was out he turned one last time towards the ancient palace. For several minutes, he looked up at the crescent moon shaped metal symbol pinned atop of the roof of the Tower of Prayer.

"Yes, old queen… I _do_ hope we meet again…"

With those words, he left.

END TO THE 2ND CHAPTER

2nd A/N: Man, this has been one heck of a difficult chapter! For instance, it's way longer than the first one… I did my best to describe what I think would happen if Goku ever met Queen Serenity. But then again, this is the second time he does. Of course, you must have read my other fic "What Lies Ahead" to know what happened the first time they met, in Other World… So don't say I didn't warn you!

Enough, please tell me what you think in a review, ok? Reviews do encourage authors with their work.

(Yeah, yeah… flames too if you were wondering… But if you're gonna leave one then please all I ask is you refrain from using any insults or name calling —which will make me decide to ignore you entirely… even if your right in what you say— and that you _do_ tell me what you think is wrong. I can't possibly get better if I don't know exactly what I'm lacking.)

Ok, now R&R please?

JAY


	3. Her Pain

A/N: Ok, here's another chapter, already! You guys can't complain… I highly recommend you read it _slowly_ for further enjoyment, though: I have this very important exam I have to prepare now, and I don't know when I'll be updating…

I want to thank the people that reviewed my other fanfiction, "From this moment on", and I wanted to thank Silver Moonlight-81 for all her support and encouragement through her e-mails… You all know you are the people that made me want to continue with this…

On the other hand, I wanted to confirm that I haven't updated WLA because I've been focusing on "Paths Crossing"… I don't know when I'll be doing it… But you can all expect another sequel telling of Hikari's experience in the past: I've already got it all planned in my head… I just don't know when I'll be able to write it…

If you're interested in giving me a little help with that one, though, you already know you can find my e-mail address on my profile and send me a message. I'll appreciate all the good willed help I can get.

Anyway, here it is guys, the third chapter of "Paths Crossing".

Please Read &Review… Okay?

Chapter Three: _Her Pain_

This place, the Dream Kingdom, was simply splendorous... as if taken out of some fairytale or something.

Goku advanced through the magical rain forest as if he were in some sort of trance, listening to the very strange sounds the grove was emitting: it was as if the bushes, the flowers, the trees… the birds, the insects and the wind… as if they were all playing a music, all of them part of a natural orchestra, emitting this beautiful symphony…

He thought of how lucky he had been that, back in the Eternal Realm, one of his trainers sent by Shenlong had taught him how to travel by himself through considerable distances of space, without the aid of a ship or a space pod.

It was a very complex technique, which involved learning to device an unbreakable and invisible Ki shield all around oneself, which would hold enough oxygen during the travel. The most difficult task was to be able to discern the correct amount of oxygen according to the estimated time it would take to complete the distance one wanted to travel, thus the proper size of the shield, and maintain it successfully at all times while using the rest of the energy to launch oneself towards the intended destination: one tiny miscalculation, one single second of lack of concentration or false move, and one could end left lost in the middle of the emptiness without any air to breath… If the trainee wasn't careful, it could result with their own death.

The guy who had taught it to him had been an ancient spirit, the ghost of a deceased war general named Ulysses or Odysseus. He was from a race that called itself Spartans, and their planet was named Sparta. He had used it once to return to his home, Ithaca, a city on the moon of Sparta, after being absent for almost twenty years, due to a war with the capital of nearby star, Troy. It had taken the poor guy another ten years, after ten already spend in battle, to go back to his wife Penelope and his son, and he had told Goku in a piece of a confidence that the damned useless war had been only to retrieve the unfaithful wife of the king of Sparta, who had run off with the prince of Troy… Beside a nasty cannibal race called the Cyclopes, a sorceress named Circe, the monsters Scylla and Charybdis and the Sirens, it had all been fault of a stupid woman obsessed with him, Calypso, who had been aided by her father Poseidon in holding Odysseus back for seven years… On top of that, he had had to face a whole host of suitors occupying his palace, in order to get them away from his though-to-be-widow wife, once he was finally home.

_Poor guy…_ compared to him, Goku's seven years in Other World had been a utopia.

So, that was how Goku had been able to reach this planet known as the _original_ Earth, only to find himself on endless lands of desert and devastation.

This 'Chaos' had certainly succeeded in achieving total annihilation: the sole full blooded saiyajin in existence hadn't been able to find anyone o anything even after having rounded the planet twice in his flights. He had already been on his third round when the star shaped locket the moon royal had given him before started shinning, went by itself out of the pocket on his GI and floated in front of the martial artist, slowly taking a vertical position. Then it opened its lid and the crescent moon shape inside it stopped its spiraling and emitted a single ray of light towards the horizon. Goku simply took the locket with his right hand and kept it in front of him as he followed the narrow cylinder of light to the place were its target was located.

Soon he had been able to glimpse far away a portal of some kind, a circumference of blue light that met the end of the ray, as if the ray had somehow opened it or something alike. Goku had stopped a couple of meters before the magical gate and had stared at it frowning for a moment. It was made of pure blue light, so he couldn't discern what was behind it. He also couldn't sense absolutely anything from it that would help finding if it _was_ dangerous…

He had considered it for a few moments more and decided it seemed harmless enough and that he trusted Queen Serenity's advice, so he just prepared himself for anything and launched himself through it at a very high speed…

Now, this infinity of sweet scents and perfumes was currently assaulting his senses, the dense humidity of the environment another one added to them. He could tell they came from the incredible variety of plants and trees scattered all over around him, the leaves shinning under a cover of tiny rain drops.

It was a smell ten times more delicious than anything he had ever smelled before in the Black Forest, back on his own Earth.

However, what truly amazed him from all of it, was the view of so numerous kinds of bright and colorful flowers, along with many different types of insects and butterflies, all of them unique in their qualities —each one so pretty and exotic in their own way—, like nothing he had ever seen in any other place he had ever been before.

Right now, for example, he gazed at the strange pair of butterflies that were flying in front of him: their wings were so large his whole hand whole have fit on top of them, and they were also translucent, the light bouncing off of them in a million of colors.

He also had the opportunity to stare at some of the animals, a few small rabbits and bears. Their species were common enough, but the fur of these rabbits was a spotless and ethereal white, and the bears, even if as big as himself, didn't look threatening at all.

He was thinking, not even the lands of paradise in Other World were this heavenly…

The Queen of the Moon had said this enchanting place was known as the _Fields of Elysion_.

Goku just sniffed the air deeper and continued walking, careful of his steps and attentive to any sign he could get of Serenity's whereabouts.

He suddenly though he heard voices. Soon he was going towards where he thought the sounds were coming from.

"So she's finally back?" he heard a low male voice asking.

"Yes, she is" answered a high pitched female voice with an English accent "But nothing has changed, she is as depressed as before" it added, worry evident in it.

"What did she tell you, Luna?" This time, it was a high pitched male voice that prompted softly.

"I already told Kunzite, Helios, that she didn't tell me anything; she just passed beside me and went directly towards her waterfall"

"You should leave her alone, mama" the voice of a young girl piped in "The queen seems to enjoy that place, it's as if it helps soften her suffering a bit… and after all she's been through…"

"We've all gone through a lot, young Diana. It's just that Serenity's taking it harder" said the low male voice.

At the mention of Serenity's name, Goku stopped behind some bushes to listen in.

"'Taking it harder'??!" the woman's voice, 'Luna', gasped. Goku heard the movement of a person rushing to get up.

"Endymion's and Princess Serenity's star seeds were _crushed_, Kunzite! Chaos _crushed_ them! It didn't happen the same to Zoicite's star seed!!!" this 'Luna' person's voice yelled in fury, edged with despair.

This 'Kunzite' only met her words with silence.

"Please calm down, mama…"

With that yell, Goku had finally been able to pinpoint their location. Were these people lunarians' also?

He could only feel one Ki signature.

He was at the border of a vast clearing, the silhouettes of four people standing in front of a huge villa, a good ten meters from where he was…

He thanked his saiyan hearing.

There were two males, a tall man with long straight silver hair and green highlights, dressed in grey military attire, and a teenage boy, about eighteen years old, with short light blue hair and silver highlights, dressed in white garb. The females were a short woman with long purplish black curly hair that descended from the buns at the top of her head, and a teenage girl, about sixteen years old, whose light violet hair was also done up in a similar fashion; they were dressed in a yellow night dress and a pink fine dress respectively.

None of them seemed to have noticed him, as busy as they were in their argument.

"It's just so painful and overwhelming" the dark purple haired woman whispered between sobs.

"Even if we have also lost your father, we still have hope that, somewhere, Artemis' soul is unharmed and well…" the woman's voice turned grave with grief and regret "…But we can not say the same for Serenity's daughter and husband…"

The violet haired girl gazed up at the eyes of her mother.

"Mama, don't you think I know..? That I've lost my _best friend_ for ever??!" even from the distance, Goku could tell she was crying.

Luna brought Diana towards her in a tight hug with her right arm, while her left hand lifted to cover her face is anguish.

"I know, sweety, I know…" she broke "Though I can't even begin to imagine what Usagi must be feeling"

Goku could distinguish the gleam of tears falling heavily from their eyes, and the look on the males' faces was a mix of shameful and solemn.

The saiyan felt his heart constrict painfully. _So much sorrow… _

He could sense so much sorrow coming from this people… and he was beginning to understand the hardened and sorrowful expression on Cosmos' eyes as well, when they had met his in the Eternal Realm.

_Could that have been the reason why she..?_

A terrible idea slithered its way into his thoughts. His limbs suddenly went limp and he staggered. He turned pale.

_Had she actually tried to..?!_

He tried not to think about it. The very idea filled him with the most agonizing emotions he had ever felt in is whole life…

_That would have meant Shenlong had lied… That he hadn't told him everything… _

It was only comparable to what he had felt only once, to the emotions of fear and despair that had assaulted him at the end of the battle with Buu, when he had been so afraid that killing Vegeta's soul along with Buu were the only way to save the universe…

_They couldn't possibly be saying that… It couldn't be that this Chaos had…_

_That it had made her actually…_

…_Could it?_

It was unconceivable.

He had not been able to tell Queen Serenity that her daughter had attempted suicide, _but_ _this_ _was_ _far_ _worse…_

_FUCK!_

Goku had never been one to swear or curse before, but this was so beyond him, it made him feel so helpless he couldn't help it. He was filled with even more dread and guilt than what the thought of this woman killing herself for him had given him.

He fought a wave of nausea.

_Was this the kind of thing one had to go through to decide..? To actually decide to..?_

He tried to deny it for all he was worth, but the evidence was still there.

_She hadn't really tried to give her life force in exchange for his freedom, so that the dragons could turn it into the Primal Energy they needed with their magic… She had actually decided to give them that Primal Energy **directly**…_

… _by destroying her soul. _

_Her own soul…_

…_The soul of a living being… Ki energy and magic energy united… the energy of creation…The energy within a single soul…_

…_Primal Energy…_

_That was what that energy really was, where it had really come from… _

_The ultimate sacrifice of all._

He was _so_ furious and ashamed now…

She had looked so depressed, so utterly devoid of hope and emotionally _dead_ when she had freed him.

_How _come_ he hadn't realized it..??_

Goku was ashamed of himself for not showing his presence the very moment he had got there, but he couldn't certainly show himself now; he felt too guilty and nauseous.

He wasn't so sure either if he would have been able to confront them and confirm his suspicions right now.

So he just turned around to get away from it all, when a voice behind him stopped him in his tracks.

"Who are you?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The former Neo Queen Serenity gazed at her reflection on the blue translucent waters of the bed of crystalline liquid under the waterfall.

Her low being just looked out of place in this celestial environment.

It was incredible how deteriorated she seemed in the outside, she was only the spectrum of her former self: Long faded yellow locks that resembled straw more than they did hair, they run loose all around her, she just didn't find it in her to put them up in her old hair style anymore; dull eyes, heavy with the bags under them, stared back at her void of emotion.

It was scary to think those were her eyes… _so dead_. Once, they had been constantly bright with hope and dreams for the future… but now they were empty.

_As empty as her heart felt. _

Her outer appearance just revealed the misery inside her.

She had given it everything in herself to win this war… Even when she ran away, to the past, she had still somehow been trying…

She had returned from the 20th century with renewed strength, her resolve fueled by Eternal Sailor Moon's selfless act of courage, and the heaven granted time she had been blessed with the chance to spend beside the past selves of her loved ones.

She had returned to the present only to be met by another attack of this entity made of _evil itself_.

That's when it told her what it had done.

It had only taken that single short encounter, the knowledge of this _being_'s most recent actions during her absence, to crush her spirit for ever…

Her husband…her child…No power in the universe would ever bring them back…

It wasn't possible without their star seeds, their very souls; with their souls gone, it was as if they had never been alive. As if they had never been at all.

It had _murdered_ _their souls_.

Never an enemy before had ever done something so cruel, so terrible and unforgivable… They always harmed their bodies, they were trying to kill them, sent them to the realm of the dead… But never before had they tried to destroy their very existence.

Nothing they had ever done was remotely close. Never before had she seen them commit such an abominable crime, such an atrocity and aberration.

_She just had never thought it would be possible._

It had already possessed their star seeds in its grasp, along with anyone else's, and she had been absent, gone, to the 20th Century… giving it the perfect opportunity to do it.

She would never forgive herself… It was the same as if she herself had _helped_ do it.

_I killed them, I killed my family…_

Many tears fell on the back of her hands supporting her trembling form against the grass.

…_I want to die._

She had no more reasons to keep going. Chaos had issued its strategy well. She could no longer keep fighting.

She had no longer any will to live.

If she could, she would destroy herself.

That was the punishment she would pay, willingly, for killing her own family.

She smiled bitterly.

_And I almost succeeded…_

If it hadn't been for Selene, she would have made it. She would have given up her existence in order for the saiyajin Son Goku to be free again. She had decided that, in her last and ultimate death, she would gift this universe with a final good deed.

She found out about him, his kindness, his many sacrifices. So she chose him.

Then, perhaps, if he were free, Chaos would someday be stopped.

As for its destined opponent, the legendary senshi, Sailor Cosmos, she had only wished to join her family in the emptiness of nothing…

…_Yes, this time, with Goku, I failed… But I will try again…_

Someday, she told herself, she would succeed.Selene would have to understand that it was merciless making her live on with this kind of pain. No matter what she said, she could never deny it was unbearable for a simple mortal; Serenity had never been a divine, perfect creature, like her godly ancestor.

She smiled bitterly once more. As a matter of fact, it was almost ironic, how all her lifetimes ended the same way.

First, she had killed herself as the princess of the moon; now, she would completely wipe herself out as the _Queen of the Stars_…

After all, without her loved ones, she was weak and helpless.

When all of them had been taken away, all that remained from the _great_ queen was a coward…

A coward…

…Like the one who was always too weak to protect herself, causing her friends to die defending her…

…Like the one who was never able to recover their souls, their star seeds…

…Like the one who had been too afraid to deal with her responsibility, escaping through time traveling towards a more peaceful era, cause she wasn't able to face her fears in her own time…

…Like the one _who had killed them all…_

…Because she was so weak and pathetic.

It was no surprise, really, that this lifetime she had opted to take the same cowardly action… She would end what she had started in the Silver Millenium, long time ago.

After all, it seemed that it had always been her _real_ fate.

_Once a coward always a coward._

She only prayed everyone was able to forgive her.

Then the poor broken queen remembered the goddess' words she had heard in her mind when the Imperium Silver Crystal had saved her.

…_You will love again…_

… _You will give yourself in heart, mind, body, spirit and soul…_

Serenity felt the anger and betrayal surge inside her.

…_You will love him…_

Her hands fisted against the dirt.

…_You will love again…_

It had no use wondering who 'him' was, because it would not happen…

…She hadn't dared to appear to her and give her some clue before, the help and knowledge she had needed from her to save her loved ones, or even some encouragement or some sort of comfort, but this so called 'Goddess of Light' had had the nerve to actually lecture her in matters of her own heart.

She had no right.

Endymion had been her only love, _was _her only love… he was her _true_ soulmate…and that is how it would for ever remain…

Her hands could no longer support her and Serenity's fragile form fell towards the dirt, her long golden hair and pale arms covering her face from view.

"I… swore…I would…love…you…for…eternity" she sobbed to the memory of her for ever lost husband.

There would be no one else… ever. She didn't think she would ever be able to love again…

…She didn't deserve it…

Everyone close to her always ended hurt or dead.

…She _didn't_ _want_ to love again…

…_Ever… …Never again…_

The queen's small hands fisted again against the dirt.

It was as if she wanted to protect herself from something, some invisible threat that only her could feel.

That's how she was when she heard it, this familiar music.

It was very familiar… She wondered when and where she had heard it.

Serenity gave up some of her depressive state in order to slowly start to get up, and sat up where she was. She gazed not far away at some group of lush trees near her.

_Was it coming from that direction?_

It was getting really close now…

Her eyes widened. She had recognized it.

Her heart beat madly in her chest when she saw a tall figure approaching her from the shadows. The person stepped into the light and, for some blissful moments, all that she could see was a mop of ebony hair…

"Endymion..?!" It came out as a muffled cry.

For some seconds, he stared at her blonde hair and blue eyes in puzzlement, then his eyes took in the crescent moon birthmark.

"Cosmos..?"

It was not his voice… The spell was broken.

The Queen of the Stars remained looking at this man, this stranger in front of her. She stared right to his endless eyes of black.

Then, she truly saw him.

"Goku..?" she uttered "What are you doing here..?"

She never noticed Kunzite, Helios, Luna and her daughter arriving behind him, her sight just trailed from his puzzled face to the object on his hand.

A locket. A golden star shaped locket.

The music, which she now new was her and her love's _song for eternal lovers_, was coming from it…

…_You will love again… …You will love him…_

Selene's words echoed once more inside her head. The golden haired woman just stared at the locket for few more moments, digesting the view in front of her.

…_You will love him…_

Usagi's gaze lifted towards Goku's face, and she met his eyes again.

It was as if the words were no longer her thoughts… but a whisper carried by the wind.

…_You will love **him**…_

When she finally reacted, fury rise itself inside her chest, with the most powerful force she had ever experienced.

She got up, went in a rush towards the unsuspectful saiyajin… and slapped him for all she was worth —managing to turn his head to one side— with all the strength her tired limbs could muster.

Goku turned his head back towards her and held his red cheek in shock, hurt and embarrassment.

The hit had actually _stung_… Not even Chichi had been able to do that once he had already ascended to the four level of his transformation into Super…

He took in the trembling form of the apparent delicate woman standing so close in front of him… This time, though, she _wasn't_ trembling because of despair and loneliness.

He felt a shudder run up his spine at the intensity of the emotions he perceived in those _beautiful_ silver trimmed blue orbs.

He found himself awed.

All of her was _so beautiful…_

Even in her angry state, she was stunning: a million times more beautiful —and _warm, _he mentally added— than she had been when she had first introduced herself to him as Cosmos in the Eternal Realm, silver hair and all.

_If _she was the same person, though… Cause, even with the moon crescent, he slightly doubted it… until he recognized the sorrow hidden in those eyes.

A sorrowful, stunning, angry looking golden haired angel…

He smiled.

Serenity, however, was not much of amused. She had been biting her lips in self repression the whole time.

He internally gasped.

_Was she looking at him with… hatred?_

"Serenity..?" he tried cautiously "Don't you… remember me?"

The hardness in the eyes of the woman in front of him didn't falter, they narrowed. He saw her open her mouth to speak.

"Whatever reasons brought you here, you're not welcome" she uttered in what sounded almost like a hiss "I don't appreciate being followed… So why don't you just turn around, head back towards the direction you came from, and depart this very moment"

Several gasps were heard behind the saiyan. Never had these survivors of Crystal Tokyo seen their queen act so rude towards a person that _wasn't_ an enemy… Let alone someone as nice as this 'Goku' character seemed.

Goku remained in an astonished motionlessness.

Serenity held his puzzled gaze for more few seconds, before she coolly departed the place herself, her body moving in a resolved manner.

Not once, she turned to look back at him.

Luna approached the tall warrior from behind tentatively. She sighed.

"I am sorry, Goku-san… She usually isn't this way…" the purple haired woman tried to explain.

Diana's face saddened as she stood beside her mother.

"She's just been having a _very_ hard time…" she whispered, her stare still on the ground.

Helios stood by Luna's other side.

"We have to give her some time…" he stated.

Kunzite's expression was still hard, though.

"I only hope she comes out of this… for the sake of this entire universe" his voice was solemn.

Goku, however, never turned back towards them or added anything to their conversation. His eyes were still focused on the direction Serenity had taken, a foreign expression on his own face.

Not even his two long lost sons would have been able to tell the emotion hidden on it.

He frowned.

_Dear old Queen, don't worry, I'll stay with Serenity and protect her… I'll find what is wrong with her… I promise…_

END TO THE 3RD CHAPTER

2nd A/N: Damn, another damn long chapter! I guess I just can't stop myself when I'm inspired, hehe. Though the rating of this story might be starting to need a change, now… What do you think? I have very little experience rating things and I would like to hear another writer's opinion. Once again, you'll have my full gratitude…

On the other hand, please keep in mind I haven't seen GT or the Sailor Moon manga, so I'm relaying on what I found on the net… Please try to ignore if I'm not accurate with any of them.

And please don't forget to review! It's very discouraging for an author to find only two or three reviews after all the time and effort spent in the chapters… At least in the case of this awfully _long_ chapters, hehe.

Ok, enough for now, I get it: I'm rambling again…

See ya all later.

Love,

Jay.


	4. Healing wounds

A/N: I just couldn't resist posting the fourth chapter! I'm really sorry, Nerf-chan that I didn't wait for your answer, it's just that all these ideas came into may head and wouldn't leave me alone until I finally wrote them. I hope you're willing to excuse me…

Anyway, people, here's the fourth chapter of "Paths Crossing"… Though you _will_ have to wait longer for the fifth, mhm? I hope you like it… The real action will be starting soon now.

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sailor Moon or Dragon Ball/Z/GT. _

Enjoy!

Chapter Four: _Healing wounds_

It had been several days after Goku's second encounter with Serenity, and she still had not come back to the villa.

The saiyajin had questioned the others about it, and they had merely responded that, since her return from the 20th Century, and the learning of her husband's and daughter's recent fates by Chaos' hand, the queen had isolated herself more and more, no longer staying at the country house with the rest of them, but sometimes she would take the form of a bird, a butterfly, or a flower, and spend the night elsewhere…

They could never know which form she had taken, which plant, insect or animal was actually _her_. That was why they no longer made the effort to go in search for her.

When Serenity wanted to be alone, she usually succeeded…

She would return eventually.

"The Golden Crystal reacts to her." Helios had explained "It would only obey those from the Earth Royal House, that was the reason the Queen had been able to use it too, back in the 20th Century; when combined with her daughter's, her will was also able to command it, because the young princess had had the blood of the King in her…" he trailed of, his voice soft with remembrance.

"Now, however, it reacts to her pain and love towards two members of the royal line of this planet, King Endymion and Princess Serenity…" the young boy's expression had become pained when talking about this princess "her daughter and husband. That is why the crystal reacts to her suffering and allows her to take these other forms"

Given time, the last general of the Earth Army, the remaining royal advisor, her young daughter, and the priest of Elysion, had all told him what they knew about the last lunarian in existence: from the very beginning of her first life, during the Silver Millenium Era, to the end of the city of Crystal Tokyo and the destruction of the entire surface of Earth by this dark enemy… the theft of the fallen ones' star seeds, the transformation from the soldier Sailor Moon into the legendary senshi, Sailor Cosmos, and the final accommodation of all the Earth's survivors in the safer sacred lands of the Dream Realm.

In exchange, Goku had told them everything of his own life, from his adventures as a child against Pilaf and the Red Ribbon Army, the dragon balls, the Martial Arts Tournament, Piccolo Daymaio, Garlick Jr., then the saiyajins, Frieza, the androids, Cell and Majin Buu, his and Vegeta's battle with the Janemba monster in Other World, his apprentice Uub, the 'tour' around the universe and later the tsufurujin Bebi… to his final departure with Shenlong towards the dragon's dimension, a hundred years ago.

They had all been amused to know someone had had a past as much, or even more complicated than theirs.

Not long ago, they had taken him for a short visit to the new grand city of Hope, baptized that way by its current residents, who still held on to the possibility of ever being able to rebuild their home world, once their beloved and respected Queen was able to vanquish this evil for good…

…It was amazing how they had always kept their never ending faith in her.

_She had already saved them all from the Ice Era…_

…_What reason did they have not to believe she would save them again, this time?_

Goku had observed with great interest the way these people had always been aware of the danger they were in, unlike the human population on his planet, and how they worshiped and _loved _Serenity…

…It seemed that lunarians, in the present, the same as the ancient Queen of the Moon had told him that was in the Silver Millenium, were still considered nowadays a race sent by the heavens as a divine blessing to the rest of mortal species.

He would truly have liked to find out the depth of this Goddess of Light's powers. It was a pity, really, that she had become what they said, 'omniscient', the moment she had decided to drop the mortal form she had taken to stay on the moon, during her reign, millions and millions of years before…

Right then, though, Goku was quite comfortable staying in this wonderful fairy like world, enjoying the comforts of the villa.

Though, with each passing day, he grew restless with Serenity's prolonged absence —Even if he knew well enough that, not being able to sense her Ki signature, he would never be able to find her unless she decided to show herself to him, which, if he could rely on the events the last time they had been close to one another, would not be happening anywhere near soon.

That was another thing that had been bothering him lately… He kept recreating in his mind eye the hateful expression that had been in her eyes when she had looked at him after she had realized he had her locket —Luna had told him the object had belonged to her some time ago, and that she had probably been too shocked to discover that he had it… thus her reaction, but she had 'kindly' refused to say anything more on the matter.

However, the warrior had been able to suspect this star shaped locket brought painful memories to Serenity —he wasn't stupid— but he had yet to figure out why _exactly_ she could have wanted to slap him…

Him… the very person she had gone out of her way to free, to save, just hours before… 

_It just didn't make any sense…_

Somehow, Goku could feel there was more to this than what he was let on, and he vowed to himself he would sooner or later achieve in discovering _what_.

He owed it to Serenity for saving him from the Eternal Kingdom, and he owed it to her mother, the Moon Queen, for helping him that time in Other World and that second time on the moon.

He would not let any of them down. Even if Serenity didn't want his help, he would give it anyway, he would protect her…

…Such an innocent girl as fragile and good hearted as her did not deserve to be fighting this war all by herself… And, from what he had found, she _was_ fighting alone, none of the Earth survivors had been or were coming close to be able to assist her against this entity.

He had also found out from Kunzite that the only reason it was not still sending its attacks towards them then, was because Serenity, as Sailor Cosmos, had raised an invisible barrier, the Shield of Protection, all around Elysion, to keep it and its minions from entering the sacred realm.

The only reason Goku had been able to trespass it was because he had had the Moon Star Locket.

"Tell me, Luna, this Chaos… this… 'thing'… What exactly is it?" he asked suddenly.

They were currently sitting on the porch of the villa, enjoying the calm weather of another peaceful afternoon; the towers of the Ancient Royal Palace of Elysion were visible far away, over the tops of the lush trees that formed the thick grove in front of the house.

The purple haired advisor beside him just sighed.

"I'm not exactly sure, Goku… No one really knows what it is, only that it is evil and seems to enjoy taking mortal lives, along with people's star seeds… I heard Usagi relate once, back in the 20th Century, that Sailor Galaxia had told her and the Starlights it was a force older than the universe" she murmured "and that it had corrupted Galaxia after she had sealed it within her own body"

Goku nodded in understanding.

"Did she say they were actually able to _see_ it, after they defeated Galaxia, I mean?"

Luna shook her head.

"She said they never got to… Sailor Moon was only able to purify Galaxia and then rescue everyone else by throwing herself into the Cauldron" she answered "But, from what we've seen of it in the present, it can not only possess people, it can take almost any form as it wants, human, animal, plant-like or any other appearance it wishes… And it can take more than one at a time… That's what makes it so dangerous, we never know when and from where it is going to attack, and Usagi is the only one that can resist its darkness and wound it"

"But she has not been able to fully destroy it yet…" Goku finished. The woman nodded.

"Even though the legend of the _Queen of Stars_, has always announced that Sailor Cosmos would fight it, it has never suggested weather or not she will eliminate it… All that we know is that this being has been dormant within the Cauldron for centuries, that for some unknown reason it has woken in this time and that it wants to destroy all Earth's population"

"It wants all these people's star seeds, doesn't it? And it won't get them as soon as they stay here" Goku elaborated.

"You know" he added after a while, "the eternal dragon told me it had also attacked this planet cause it knew somehow that Cosmos was dormant within the descendant line of Selene"

Luna seemed to be considering this new piece of information.

"I think that makes sense" she responded after a while "it only proceeded to take Princess Serenity's star seed just after Usagi had turned into Cosmos… It was as if it was making sure he wouldn't kill Cosmos before she had the chance to awaken"

Her deep chocolate eyes became suddenly sad and angry.

"That means it must have been playing with us all this time… with Usagi specially. I always suspected it had crushed her family's star seeds to get to her, to weaken her psychically and emotionally in order she could no longer keep facing it… It's like it's all been a game of proving who's stronger to it"

Goku agreed with her, and reflected how the Saiyajin Prince had wanted to prove the very same thing, but how Vegeta had never lowered himself to such resorts.

He had truly been a man of honor, and Goku realized then and there how much he missed him…

"And you say my Ki attacks would not be able to harm it?" he questioned.

"It is not a living being, so I guess this Ki energy you say would not truly affect it… There is a possibility that it might even nurture it"

Luna's expression became very serious.

"Goku, if it was a matter of strength or anything, if it had _ever_ been… then the human security forces, the human armies and weapons would have been able to take care by themselves of these 'little' menaces right from the 20th Century, and the Sailor Scouts would have never needed to reawaken in this era" she reasoned.

"However, with them being creatures of darkness it has never been that simple… To completely destroy them, they have to be _purified_. If not, they will always be able to return, one way or another…" she continued.

"Usually, these obscure beings are capable of misleading and possessing innocent people… _That's_ what the Sailor Soldiers' powers are for" she finished with resolve "And Sailor Cosmos is the most powerful of all… The Great Purifier… The Universal Protector of mortals against darkness"

Goku's gaze was directed towards the ground.

He was recalling how the wizard Babidi had been able to corrupt Vegeta, and how difficult it had been for him and his friends later to defeat Bebi, all because they hadn't been prepared for him taking control of some of their minds and bodies.

He understood what the woman was trying to say to him.

"Either way" he whispered "I will not stay comfortably seated while Serenity risks her life, her own existence even, in such a way…"

He lifted his stare towards Luna.

"I'll find the way to be able to harm it myself… I've never let anything stop me from helping before, and I do not intend to start now" he said so deeply.

The purple haired female knew he was being very serious.

She smiled.

No wonder the locket had reacted to him that intensely, by playing its wonderful sweet music…

_It was said the 'Song for Eternal Lovers' could never be played by any mortal instrument… That no mortal device would ever reflect the depth and feeling to it like when this music was played by itself… _

_It would only resonate like that from a lunar music box, and only when the owner was blessed by the gods with the opportunity of a hopeful love. _

_Usagi had always been its 'original' owner, before she had given it to Mamoru in the Silver Millenium… and after the King had been killed, the locket had never played the song again._

_Then, it had mysteriously disappeared…_

…_and now, it had appeared back, placed on Goku's right hand, the beautiful Song for Eternal Lovers being played by it once more… _

…_like an unquestionable sign._

Luna could not help but smirk to herself.

He _was_ truly handsome, seemed _very_ kind hearted, and looked _really_ strong… 

…Usagi was certainly _one_ lucky girl.

Goku just looked at Luna in perplexity; first Queen Serenity and now her… he couldn't understand why so many women looked at him so knowingly nowadays…

The loud sounds of a horse, along with Kunzite and Peruru's voices, interrupted both their thinking.

Goku wasn't really surprised; he had already sensed their Ki signatures.

Now, he already knew he couldn't sense Luna or her daughter Diana because they were honorary lunarians, by willing adoption, and he couldn't sense Helios 'cause he had deeply bonded emotionally to Serenity's deceased daughter, the princess of Earth, thus sharing her longevity and other lunarian attributes from then on.

"Come here, boy! We won't hurt you!" came the other light lavender haired youth's yell.

Soon he became visible, his rainbow fairy like wings carrying him as fast as they could as he chased after an injured immaculate white unicorn.

The boy didn't look older than sixteen years old.

A while later, Kunzite showed up walking behind him.

The poor unicorn trotted in a zig –zag to get away from the obstinate dream elf.

It looked scared.

Luna frowned and stood. Goku just took it all in silence.

Helios didn't take long to step out from the door.

"What do you two think you're doing?" Luna demanded.

"Kun-san and I found him while we were fishing near the waterfall!" the dream elf, Peruru, shouted back.

"He's wounded and he won't let us heal him!" he excused himself.

Helios smiled at his younger cousin.

"You should leave it alone, Peru-chan" he gave advice "Unicorns are extremely pure and sacred creatures… They will only allow a thoroughly innocent person to get close o them…"

Then Goku recalled how he had always been able to ride on Nimbus.

_Perhaps I should try it… _He thought to himself.

_It is worth a try…That animal looks in pain. _He resolved.

He had already started to get up, when he noticed everyone, the unicorn included, had grown oddly silent, their gazes towards the sky.

He fully stood, looked up… and saw it.

It was a very white, delicate and beautiful swan, flying above them, which approached slowly, until it landed a couple of meters beside the mythical horse, which seemed to be looking at it in odd interest.

Then, a bright golden aura enveloped the newly arrived swan, until it started growing in size and changing form…

…Not long after, they were all staring at what… or rather '_who'_ the swan truly was.

It was Serenity.

Without a word, she confidently made her way towards the sacred animal, which never made any attempt to avoid her, and placed her hand carefully on top of the wound, her golden crescent moon birthmark flickering to life and giving off a faint golden gleam.

A silver glow surrounded her hand and enveloped the wound, healing it instantaneously.

The unicorn leaned its snout against her long loose golden blond hair and the fair skin of her neck, and smelled them quite a few times in affection.

Their spectators observed them in awed silence.

Usagi's eyes shinned brighter than they had in a long while. She laughed at the unicorn's antics and caressed its mane lovingly, stopping only once to embrace its strong nape between her thin soft arms, not caring if her white silk gown was getting messy.

They were two heavenly creatures playing together, speaking to each other in their own language.

The other five watched them as if hit by some sort of enchantment.

Luna sighed and smiled softly, lifting her right hand towards her face, her fingers rested casually over her lips.

Helios stared at the blonde queen petting the unicorn with a knowing smile on his own face, while his cousin, Peruru, just gazed at them questioningly.

Kunzite only folded his arms over his chest and his look remained emotionless, but Goku…

…Goku felt as if he were falling in love with Chichi all over again.

He had never seen such a tender and breath taking scene.

The saiyan could not explain why, but it reached deeply inside his heart.

He slowly let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding.

"It is no wonder, really" came Luna's rather low whisper, so that only he could hear it.

"In the Silver Millenium, everyone assured the moon princess had the purest and most innocent heart…" she gazed at the view in front of them "…I guess they were right"

Helios smiled as he approached the pretty maiden.

"It is good to have you back, my Queen" he closed his eyes as he vowed respectfully.

Though, Serenity remained silent. Her gaze remained on the horse.

She kept caressing the immaculate white mane as her eyes saddened.

"Do you remember, Helios" she started, "how you took the form of a Pegasus very similar to this unicorn, when you were inside ChibiUsa's dream mirror?"

The young priest's expression became grave.

"I do" he whispered.

Usagi smiled.

"We were quite happy right then, actually… Weren't we?" she continued "And we didn't even know it…"

Her eyes became filled with tears.

The unicorn's head turned towards her as if in worry.

Helios' face was heavy with suppressed grief.

"I know, Your Majesty… I know" he replied almost in a non-audible voice.

His own eyes were also filled with tears now.

Serenity saw this and smiled again, but this time it was towards him.

"She was very fortunate to have you"

The priest shook his head.

"I could not keep her safe. I was of no help during the battle"

"You gave it all you had"

"It was still useless, I wasn't able to save anyone… I wasn't able to save her"

He choked. His hands closed into fists.

At the other side, on the porch, Goku stood listening in silently.

He knew it was the first time the young boy let it out and showed his often reserved feelings.

The Neo Queen's stare softened with empathy.

"You loved her thoroughly when she was alive; you made my daughter very happy" she replied "That is all that will ever count".

Her gaze fell to the ground.

"Whereas me… I'm the one to blame. Even with Cosmos' power, I still failed to protect them"

Helios' yellow brown eyes widened.

"Please, do not say or think that, my Queen!" he pleaded anxiously "I could never blame it on you! None of us believe it is your fault this happened!" he tried to reason.

The blonde maiden wiped away her tears and looked at him proudly.

"You've become such a kind hearted young man…" she whispered. "You would have made such a perfect son-in-law…" she smirked weakly between sobs.

Then she broke and hugged him tightly between her arms.

Helios remained stunned and motionless for a moment, shocked.

Then he slowly reached to lightly hug her back.

And so, they began to cry freely in unison, no shame and their emotions no longer concealed, while they held tightly onto each other, united by the same pain.

Everyone else kept their distance, not willing to interrupt or disturb this mutual understanding of feelings.

This temporary giving of mutual comfort… 

…_Because no one else would have understood their pain as well as each other… _

…_They were both grieving the very same people the most…_

Peruru's turquoise eyes also became sorrowful… He had also been very fond of ChibiUsa.

He took out his flute and started playing a soft, sweet, melodic tune he hoped would help them all feel better.

Goku remained watching the pair and somehow felt their profound wounds had started to heal, if only just a little bit.

He felt happy for them.

Usagi finally let go of Helios but kept him at arms length, staring at him in the eyes and smiling tenderly like a mother would.

She wiped away his tears, and lightly kissed his forehead.

The unicorn had approached her again and caressed her cheek with its snout consolingly. Serenity petted it gratefully one more time.

"I'll come see you all again soon" she whispered.

Then she turned and left.

Helios stayed standing where he was beside the now calm unicorn, his gaze wandering as he reflected on everything that had happened.

Goku was going to go after Serenity when Luna's light grip on his arm stopped him.

"Let her go" she advised "She needs to be alone"

Goku considered this for a few moments.

He shook his head.

"She's been alone for too long already" he answered "She now needs the help and support of those that care about her more than ever."

"I'm not gonna let her continue keeping all her suffering to herself… She needs someone right now, and it'd better be me than no one" he stated.

Luna looked intensely into his eyes and seemed satisfied by what she saw.

"Go ahead."

She suddenly let go of his arm.

"Go."

He looked at her chocolate pools and nodded.

Soon he was running after Serenity.

Luna watched hi leave with a thoughtful expression on her face.

She sighed for the third time that day.

"Oh, Goku…" she murmured "I do hope your love is able to finally mend her shattered heart"

END TO THE 4RTH CHAPTER 

Please R&R!

Jay.


	5. Your Touch

A/N: Here's the fifth chapter! Hope you like it.

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sailor Moon or Dragon Ball/Z/GT. _

Enjoy and review!

Chapter five: _Your Touch._

Kunzite did not like it one bit that the new comer, this newly met saiyan, had gone after Serenity.

His loyalties were still on the deceased Earth King, Endymion, so he didn't appreciate this odd attitude he could sense on Goku towards the Neo Queen.

He still stood there, at the clearing, gazing towards where he had seen those two leave for, a deep frown on his face.

On the contrary, Helios and his elf cousin, Peruru, had already entered the house to take a look at what Diana was cooking for lunch. Only Luna remained.

She approached him.

"Kunzite-san" she began "why are you looking so disturbed?" she asked sincerely.

Kunzite just gazed at her from the corner of his eye.

"I just don't like the way the saiyajin acts around and looks at Serenity" he growled "I am not blind, and I am not stupid" he turned towards Luna with a stone-like expression "I know something weird is going on here"

Luna bit her lip.

"You surely are just overreacting" she denied "I haven't seen or noticed anything like it… Goku is a nice person"

Kunzite snarled.

"You fool yourself as much as you wish" he derogated "but I do _not_ intend on letting this 'foreigner', who isn't even a human, get to be the next King of Earth"

Luna's chocolate eyes darkened.

"Is that all you're worried about?" she shook her head at him "We don't even _know_ if we'll ever be able to safely return to the surface… and all you're thinking about is who's gonna be the next male on the throne?"

Kunzite's gaze narrowed.

"It is not an irrelevant matter, specially now that there's another alien twirling around our Queen. It is bad enough that Endymion is dead and she, a lunarian, gets to be the sole ruler… The royal throne of Earth was always meant for human beings, not this herd of outsiders"

Luna's eyes flashed.

"You're still bitter holding onto old resentments and enmities… Endymion _loved_ Serenity. That is why he always protected her against the animosity of people like you, who wouldn't let go of a worn out rivalry."

Kunzite greeted his teeth.

"She seduced him and misled him and that is how the prince ended back in the Silver Millenium: dead protecting a spoiled, reckless brat who couldn't even stand for her own self."

Luna oh so wanted to throw herself at him right now.

"She was only a fourteen year old at the time! That's too much of a tender age even by _human _standards! The prince of Earth protected her because he loved and cared for her, because he had understood that the way your people had felt about lunarians then was a useless prejudice!" she yelled.

"It was no 'useless prejudice', oh dear native of the planet Mau." he answered forlornly "Lunarians are 'unnatural' creatures, their traits have never been normal"

Luna huffed.

"And what is it you so perfect and evolved humans call 'normal'" she asked in a hiss "Behaving the way you do? Distrusting everything and everyone just because they're a bit different from yourself? Admit the truth, Kunzite… You're just a hopeless case of chronic paranoia…" she smiled smugly.

"You're afraid of your own shadow…" she continued "That's the emotion that's always been behind all this hatred for lunarians: fear… Fear of what you can't possibly understand. You fear Usagi because you can not comprehend who, what she is… All these time, you've never been anything other than scared the shit of her"

The former general of the Earth Army looked at her livid.

"Besides…" the purple haired royal advisor added "I can't see why you still distrust her so much because she is not human… If I recall correctly, Princess Serenity was reborn as a _human being_ when she was reincarnated…"

"She's not a real human" he interrupted her "…she's never been, never will be… You are a fool, Luna, if you think I'll believe she's anything like our race just because she spent only twenty two years of her current life time as one… Even if she did, her ability to still use the Silver Crystal was proof enough that, even then, she wasn't truly one of us"

"You keep being stubborn and let your own foolishness blind you" the maurian responded in barely restrained anger "The truth is, you're the only human that still thinks that way nowadays"

An unsettling twisted smile made itself known on Kunzite's lips.

"That is where you are wrong…" he whispered almost sinisterly "I'm not the only one, not any more… Endymion was the only thing keeping Serenity on the Earth throne… Trust my words, Luna: now that he's gone, if she continues this unable to keep the act together for much longer, no power on this universe will be able to save your _Queen_ from what is coming her way…"

He laughed cruelly as he left the poor honorary lunarian to her chaotic thoughts.

Luna's eyes focused on the ground, filled with worry, as she hugged herself.

"He couldn't be talking seriously…could he?" she asked herself helplessly. She shook her head firmly in denial "No, he isn't, he can't be… Kunzite's always enjoyed getting to me, and now is no different… This is exactly the kind of reaction he wanted to cause in me"

Her troubled gaze lifted slowly upwards.

"But if it's not… Then… Usagi is in even more trouble and perhaps even danger than the one Chaos means upon her…"

Her deep brown eyes widened

"Oh, no! Selene, please let him have been bluffing…"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Usagi entered the shadowed main chamber of the ancient castle with hesitant steps that echoed throughout the walls of the Elysion Royal Palace.

There, in the middle of the room floor, was a small pool of colorless water, the Golden Crystal suspended in the air little more than half a meter over it, its bright shine reflecting the light that came through the stained glass windows.

The transparent liquid under it looked peaceful enough, but Usagi knew better. As soon as anyone dared mistake the powerful Crystal for a simple jewel and tried to steal it, attempting to reach over them recklessly, these apparently harmless waters would abandon their calm to rise in light speed like an upwards tide, forming an impenetrable barrier all around it… and if the limb of the intruder was by any chance caught within that barrier, it would surely be severed in a perfect razor cut.

It didn't matter if the actor of such a sacrilegious action was strong, powerful or supernaturally fast. The magical wall would always manage to guard the valuable stone.

No power in the universe would ever break the wards placed by Morpheous, the elder pagan deity of dreams. Only a member of the Earth royal line would be able to touch the mystic jewel without risking any body parts; these sacred powers certainly weren't something someone else would ever want to tamper with.

Not even King Endymion's royal lunarian widow.

However, even when, without the collaboration of her daughter or husband, the Dream Crystal would not allow her to take it, it _still_ responded to her grief by indirectly lending her some small amounts of its power.

That in itself wasn't totally surprising; many times before, in the past, had Serenity experienced the same effects with Mamoru and the Silver Crystal… Once he had become her husband, it was as if the jewel would listen to his inner will and wishes and comply because most of the time they were headed towards the same purpose as those of the moon princess.

It had always been likely that both crystals were letting themselves be commanded to some degree by the subconscious thoughts of their wielders' soul mates.

However, that low level was not saying much compared to what its rightful owner could do.

In other words, Serenity would never be able to summon its help at will or to the incredibly higher degree Endymion and Reenie had been capable of, which added yet another misfortune to the current dear situation.

With the powers of the Golden Crystal aiding those of the Silver Crystal, Usagi knew she would have been able to device a truly impenetrable Shield of Protection all around Elysion that efficiently kept all its inhabitants along with the former citizens of the Earth surface safe; only the powers of the god of dreams that were trapped within that jewel would ever be able to keep Elysion protected against this powerful menace; thus, unfortunately, she was terribly aware that the current shield, produced with just her own abilities, would not be able to resist the darkness for very much longer…

It was only a matter of time till Chaos was finally able to break through it.

Keeping her safe distance, she remained for a few moments staring at the sparkling stone in front of her with uncovered longing… Not only for the powers she knew it possessed, but also for what it meant to her, the memories that emerged from just standing ahead of it and contemplating.

Then the Neo Queen cupped her hands in front of her to summon a different object, which materialized between her hands with an intense aura of light.

Her own gold royal crown.

She took it with a hesitant grip and studied the encased heart shaped rubies that were flanked by a pair of engraved gold wings, all the while recalling the fateful day, so many thousands of years ago, when she had been awakened from the frozen slumber by the Ginzuishou and used it to melt the ice that covered her beloved planet.

Then, how her and her friends had later realized the global side effect of it had been to return to the inhabitants the knowledge of the Silver Millennium; how they had labelled Mamoru their king after they discovered he was their prince's reincarnation, and how they had also accepted her as their queen once they knew it had been her who had saved them…

…Starting the era of Crystal Tokyo.

It was as it had happened so long ago that, compared to the contemporary events, it almost sounded like a fairytale… Usagi could not believe how much everything had changed after a few millenniums.

It was almost unreal.

She tightened her grasp on the gold crown in a vice like grip.

It didn't matter now…

…_She knew it was her duty to give it everything in herself to see that these survivors and current refugees from the Earth Kingdom remained out of harm's way…_

…_She just didn't know if she'll be able to keep it up way longer._

"If you continue to grab it that tightly, you might end cutting yourself with that crown" said a velvety male voice.

The Neo Queen turned sharply, summoning the Cosmos staff to her right hand to take a defensive position.

"Who's there?" she demanded.

"I'm offended that, after such a short time, you aren't able to recognize my voice anymore…" said Goku with a goofy smile on his face as he stepped out of the shadows.

_Hehe…For once _I am_ the one to sneak in on someone… _he thought with glee.

Serenity's blue eyes narrowed at him.

She didn't lower her staff.

"I thought I'd already told you I don't like being followed around"

Goku blinked.

_Again she's talking to me in a hiss…_

Goku frowned a bit at the heavy looking staff which was pointed towards him at the very moment. It was really extravagant, with those wings coming out of it…

…_But then again, _what part_ of her Cosmos costume isn't extravagant?_

Goku considered it for a few seconds.

_Mhm… Anyhow, I like hers a hundred times better than I did Gohan's Saiyaman outfit… _he decided.

Serenity scowled.

She had grown impatient with his prolonged silence.

"Are you planning on answering anytime soon?" she prompted.

Goku fixed his gaze on her.

He had been able to detect the anxious quote in her tone.

_Why is it that my presence unsettles her this much..?_

He brought a hand behind his head.

"Sorry… I didn't mean to space on you… I was thinking your Cosmos costume is really cool… Do you wear it only in battle?"

Finally, the golden haired tenshi dropped her weapon.

She sighed.

_He just _had_ to be such a nice person… _

_How do I manage to keep him away from me without sounding rude? _

Usagi mentally slapped herself.

_I worry about that now… when I've already been ruder to him than I'd ever been to Mamoru back in the 20th Century, when none of as was yet aware we had had a relationship in our past lives._

She smiled fondly to herself at the memories.

Goku was lost now.

_Just, _what_ is it with this girl…? _

_Chichi only showed this kind of mood swings when she was pregnant or pms-ing…_

He scratched his head.

…_May be that's it._

His gaze studied Usagi intensely, as if he were stretching his senses to discern which between the two possibilities it was.

Suddenly Usagi felt oddly self conscious.

"Erhm" he started, attracting her attention back to him.

"Would you mind telling me why is it you no longer like me?" he blunted.

The former moon princess swallowed hard with guilt; she hadn't meant to act so harsh to him.

_It isn't his fault either that Selene attempted to throw us both into this without our permission, as much as it isn't mine._

There was no use blaming it all on him, really.

Her resolution _not_ to fall inlove with him should be enough to ruin the undesired plans of the Light Goddess.

So her eyes softened a bit.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered "I didn't mean the way I've been behaving… Things just… haven't been going well lately…" she tried to vainly excuse herself

She couldn't but look away from him and towards the floor when she caught his somehow understanding gaze.

"It's okay" he reassured softly "The others told me"

His heart went out for her and he just couldn't help but try to comfort the golden haired angel, she looked so vulnerable right now…

He felt a wave of protectiveness surge inside his chest.

That strengthened his resolve, and he approached her tentatively.

"I've come to help you, you know?" he continued "That's the real reason I'm here"

Usagi's eyes widened and in a rush she turned her stare towards his.

"What do you mean?!" she all but squeaked.

Goku's eyes were the ones to soften this time.

"I know I we've barely met, but your mother and friends told me so much about you I feel as if I knew you already"

Usagi was shocked.

"My… _my_ _mother?_"

Goku nodded.

"Queen Serenity was the one to give me your Star Locket" he paused and smiled.

"She wanted me to tell you that she said hi".

The distraught queen was completely taken aback.

She hadn't talked or been able to communicate or contact with the spirit of her deceased mother for over millenniums, and then this stranger, this _saiyajin_ showed up out of the blue claiming he had been sent her way by her deeply longed for and missed parent.

She lifted very overwhelmed orbs towards the ebony pools of Goku.

"_How..?_" was all she managed to utter.

Goku looked at her blankly.

"Huh?"

Serenity swallowed.

"How were you able to talk with my mother? Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom is _dead_, you know" she noted.

Goku grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, I know, I met her in Other World… I spent eight years of my life dead myself, actually… But that is a _long_ story"

Usagi understood what he was saying 'cause Shenlong had given her a very brief summary on his life before she had left herself to meet him personally and confirm he was indeed the kind soul and the strong fighter he was claimed to be.

But something was wrong here.

"Did she give you my Locket while you were in Other World?"

He shook his head.

"No, she gave it to me the last time I saw her, when I was at the ruins of the royal palace of the Moon Kingdom"

Serenity raised an eyebrow.

"You traveled back in time?"

She knew for sure the ruins were no longer there on the moon… Time had taken its toll and erased them completely from the white spotless surface and the never ending lands of immaculate sand.

It had been so already in the very 20th Century… 

The reason her and her friends had been able to find themselves visiting the place that time before the final battle with Beryl had been because the Imperium Silver Crystal had taken them all back in time.

Goku shook his head again.

"I don't hink so… no. Shenlong is very capable of achieving it, that's for sure… But he said the Ancient Moon Palace was a holy place to some deities and thus they had raised a dimensional barrier all around it so that only those allowed were able to come across it and enter it… He actually looked very surprised and glad when he thought the ancient spirits had let us in"

Usagi considered this.

"So… you're saying… the Palace's been always up there, only hidden, for anyone 'allowed' to enter it?" she said almost disbelievingly.

He nodded once more.

Serenity's eyes were once more filled with tears. She quivered.

"And to think…" she whispered in a small voice "…and to think all this time I could have gone to her whenever I wanted"

The tall saiyan suddenly understood what she was implying, and his eyes filled with sadness.

"I wouldn't count much on it, though… Shenlong said most of the chosen were only allowed in once… If you've already been there, like Luna said, then I don't know if you'll be allowed access again"

Serenity turned sharply towards him, furious.

"But she's _my mother_!!!" she exclaimed "They _have_ to let me in and talk to her! That place used to be _my home_!"

She demanded him as if he was the one denying her what she so much wanted.

She covered her face with both hands and started crying again.

Goku felt a pang in his chest.

He remembered how after the Cell Games he had been able to sense Gohan's grief all the way to Other World, and reflected on how this was a very similar situation.

He approached her and took her in his arms in a very comforting hug.

Serenity was so broken and in such intense need of another being's support and affection, that she practically attached herself to his body, getting closer to lean her tired head on his hard chest without even realizing what she was doing, one hand reaching tentatively up to his broad shoulder and the other snaking its way around his waist.

In that position, she could feel the strong steady beating of his heart against her face, and also feel his right hand lightly caressing up and down her back in a soothing manner while the other run through her blonde locks.

Goku could feel himself blushing to the roots of his raven hair… It just seemed so right having her there, so close, holding her against him… It felt as if she had always belonged in there in the first place.

She felt so safe right now, enveloped in his warm, she didn't think she would ever want to leave these protective arms —which had gradually turned to possessive, if the slow tightening of their embrace was any indication.

To him, her hair was softer than anything he had ever touched in a long time, her touch was like electricity running through his veins… and he was made painfully aware of the soft curves on her body and the silky dress she was wearing, which he found himself wishing he could rip right away from her fair skin.

Goku somehow suspected it would be a little _hard_ managing to let go of her anytime soon.

He felt himself starting to get very warm, and couldn't hold back the purr that rumbled forth from his ribcage.

Usagi snuggled even closer to him and hugged him tightly, eyes closed as a sweet smile of pleasure and amusement found its way on her rosy lips.

She was lost in some sort of dream like state where she no longer discerned her surroundings.

"You sound like a cat…" she murmured, and then giggled "It's almost like hugging Luna"

She felt him nod in agreement, and then a fuzzy long tail snaked its way around her waist and squeezed her right thigh.

_That_ brought her out of her trance…

She blushed deep scarlet and suddenly remembered she _wasn't _supposed to be cuddling with him…

That she wasn't supposed to be letting herself stand this near him _at all_.

She disentangled herself from his arms and broke away from him as if his touch had burned her, unable to calm her accelerated breathing while she looked at him with tremor filled eyes.

Goku found himself staring once more into those silver blue pools and wondering how they managed to show so much emotion.

Never before had he ever found eyes as entrancing as these, no matter their color.

Not hiding anything, they were just a completely open pair of windows to her soul…

_She was feeling right then like she had betrayed the memory of her husband…_

Goku's eyes widened at this, he had just discovered he could read her like a book.

Serenity's gaze looked pained.

"Please… Do not ever do that again" she begged in a small whisper, once she was able to find her voice.

Then she run away.

Yet again, Goku remained staring after her retreating form, until, as if on cue, the locket inside his pocket started playing its song again.

He took it out without removing his gaze from its position and listened to its beautiful music once more, silently considering if it had any hidden meaning to it that he was not aware of, while at the same time his mind was still plagued with thoughts of the golden haired maiden.

_She's running from me again… but sooner or later she has to realize she can't keep running for ever… _

_I don't mean to make her this unsettled… Why can't she see all I want to do is help? _

A sudden high pitched scream took him out of his reverie.

Goku grew anxious. It had come from out of the castle and the direction she had taken.

_Serenity!_

Faster than light speed he was outside looking for her in a frantic manner, until she found her under the shadow of some trees, holding the trembling form of an injured pink haired sixteen year old girl in a sailor fuku.

He went towards them immediately.

"What happened, Ceres?" he heard the blonde queen asking.

The poor girl stammered frightened in her arms.

"It's them, Your Majesty… The Hollow Hunters… Sailor Palas, Vesta and Juno are fighting them right now…"

She let out a cry of pain before adding.

"…They are back…"

With that, she fainted.

END TO THE FIFTH CHAPTER


	6. The Battles we Fight

A/N: Once again, sorry for the delay! This chapter was a bit harder than the others, I changed my mind on what to write almost every ten seconds… Does that usually happen to any of you, when you get deeper and deeper in the development of a story?

Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to Mike Silva and James Jones a.k.a Luna's Meow, for their kind and supportive e-mails. (Trust me guys, if it hadn't been for you too, I don't know when I would have posted this, if I ever did…) Once again: Thank you both a lot.

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sailor Moon or Dragon Ball/ Z/GT, and I'm not making any profit with this. _

Chapter Six: _The Battles we Fight_

**Last Time:**

"It's them, Your Majesty… The Hollow Hunters… Sailor Palas, Vesta and Juno are fighting them right now…"

She let out a cry of pain before adding.

"…They are back…"

With that, she fainted.

-

They were back.

The Hollow Hunters...

Usagi swallowed hard, her lips tightly together, as she looked down at the limp form of Sailor Ceres, her daughter's former body guard and friend.

The moon crescent on her forehead shinned as she managed to heal the girl partially, with the same powers she had used to heal the unicorn before.

Goku was still at her side. Glancing from her to the girl in Serenity's arms, he was waiting for the blond queen to say something.

When she didn't, he decided to ask the question instead.

"Who are the 'Hollow Hunters'?"

Usagi could not even look at him.

"They're lost souls, summoned by Chaos, many of them from the _Cursed World_… One of the various legions in its demonic army of darkness… This means my Shield of Protection has finally been leaked through…"

So soon! 

It can't be… Oh, Selene! 

Goku frowned, preoccupied. He had heard some stories about the _cursed world_, or Dark Kingdom, when he was still in the Dragons' dimension, and what very little he had learned had been… disturbing.

Almost dreadful.

If that was _just one_ of the kinds of antagonists they would be having, then these definitely weren't good news…

He turned to greet the paler face and fretted expression of the golden haired woman, whose soulful eyes were now filled with apprehension.

A flash of white washed over her entire body, as she turned into Sailor Cosmos. Then her star cosmos insignia blazed to life as she concentrated, and the limp form of Ceres faded away from her arms.

Goku figured out what she must have done when he felt the girl's Ki back inside the building they had just exited.

"I teleported her to safety within the Royal Castle" Cosmos confirmed the accuracy of his guess "In there, the presence of the Golden Crystal's aura will keep her safe… Relatively."

The now silver haired woman stood up slowly, with a dull look on her face that Goku decided he didn't like.

It was the same look she had had that time in the Eternal Realm. 

Usagi hugged herself tightly as a wave of cold fear and guilt passed through her fragile form. The faces of Mamoru, ChibiUsa and the senshi, along with flashes of the ultimate destruction of Crystal Tokyo, rushed through her mind.

Not again… 

She greeted her teeth.

_I can't… _

Her arms positioned at her sides. Her hands closed into fists, like every time she was overwhelmed.

_I can't… _

…_I can't let it happen again! _

Without another word she suddenly summoned her wings and took of flying.

Goku was immediately right behind her, though. He wasn't about to let happen anything like what almost had in the Dragon Realm.

Once again, he found himself chasing after her…

"Wait!" he shouted as he got to her side.

She's so bloody impulsive! 

His massive palms got a firm grip on both of her arms, preventing her from going any further, and he turned her towards him.

"Serenity, are you planning on facing them by yourself!"

His black eyes searched hers, but she was refusing to turn her gaze to his.

"There's no time, let go of me!" she yelled at him angrily, annoyed by his intrusion "They're almost to Hope City!"

She tried teleporting away while right there in his grip, but for some reason she found that she couldn't.

"…Oh no you don't…"

Usagi looked up at Goku, and regarded him flabbergasted.

Never before had she been prevented by anyone, Chaos included, from using her Cosmos' powers of teleportation.

Yet, for some reason, this saiyajin had just been able to.

"I was right" she heard him say.

The saiyan saw the surprise and confusion in her.

"Even if I can't sense your Ki" he told her "I'd been suspecting for a while that it didn't necessarily mean you don't have one… You're just like a guy I met in the Eternal Realm; his Ki was suppressed and blended so much with the nature all around him, that it almost camouflaged, making him undetectable. It was a technique he had spent a hundred years perfecting… and yet you seem to do it naturally.

He decided to congratulate her.

"You lunarians are a very interesting race"

Usagi didn't pay attention to his last words, but almost blinked, momentarily ceasing her struggling and forgetting the Hollow Hunters.

"Ki?"

"They say it's a living being's life force…" he responded "Once I figured that out, it wasn't that difficult to find your Ki and bind it to mine, stopping that little disappearing act of yours…" he looked at her in triumph "and the best of it is that from now on I'll probably be able to use my Instant Transmission on you!"

He couldn't keep the naughty grin off his face.

The woman in his arms had stopped her struggle and stared at him perplexed for some seconds, but then scowled at him in response, not the least amused.

"I don't care at this precise moment, let go of me!" she tried pushing against his chest with her palms "Don't you see I have to get to the city!"

Goku's eyes narrowed, but he didn't let go.

"If there are really _cursed folk_ down there, you're _not _going alone. Luna and the others will never recover if the enemy gets your star seed also"

Usagi seemed surprised at first, but when the words set in, her gaze hardened.

"I have to take the risk. If I don't go there immediately, the people in the city will perish."

Seeing that he wasn't relenting; tormented by the memory of his comforting embrace, moments ago, and embarrassed by the heat she felt at, once again, being so involuntary close; she nailed him to coax him into letting go.

"I didn't know the legendary saiyajin Son Goku to be a coward! I thought he fought for good and innocents!"

The accusation slapped him in the face.

"Can't you see? Serenity, you won't achieve anything if you rush in there without thinking! You must think your options before acting!" he almost cried, frustrated.

She glared at him menacingly.

"You're thoroughly mistaken if you think you're anywhere nearentitled to tell me what to do" she hissed. "Stay away from this… and for the last time, release me _right now_!"

"I was trying to tell you before, I'm here because I want to help…" His voice softened, pleading with her. "You don't have to fight alone"

She scowled again, deeper.

"I didn't ask for your help"

"Even if you didn't" he said stubbornly "I still want to give it"

She glared at him in anger for another moment, and then, without warning, her gaze lowered to the side, her facial expression turning from aggravated to one of gloom and foreboding, taking Goku by surprise.

"What does it matter, anyway?" she swallowed hard "I still can't accept it…I'm sorry. As the Queen of Earth, it's my duty to make sacrifices when the well being for my people is jeopardized… And as Cosmos, I must see to it that Chaos doesn't completely erase all life in the universe… It's a burden I must carry solely on my own."

"Why?"

"You can't help me… no one can…"

It had been not more than a whisper, and Goku knew better than to misinterpret it.

No, one look into her averted silver eyes, directed anywhere but towards him, told him all he needed to know…

She had given up.

Suddenly, he was furious at her.

His grip tightened on her arms, almost painfully, and the Silver Senshi winced.

"Fine" he answered coldly "If that's how things are, Serenity, then I'll be the one to take care of this…"

Usagi's look was short from one of puzzlement.

"…I think you should stay here" he said in a definite tone.

Confusion mixed with indignation once again washed over her features at the sight of his utter resolve, but, when she saw him lift a hand towards her neck, she suddenly realized what he was about to do.

He was gonna knock her unconscious.

He was a chief martial artist, of course she wouldn't be able to stop him if she fought him physically!

And, considering she couldn't teleport, he was gonna succeed.

"You don't understand!" she exclaimed desperately "I'm the one they want!"

She tried to free herself from his grasp, failing miserably. Though using all her strength, she still couldn't make his arm budge…

…Not the tiniest bit.

"Please!" her troubled eyes met his, stopping his hand in mid-motion.

Her voice broke.

"If I surrender my star seed to Chaos, then may be it and its demons won't take any more lives!"

However spell bound by her seas of silver, he resisted the urge to give in, to concentrate on the more urging need to protect their owner.

"Bull shit"

She held her breath at the harshness in his tone.

Goku pulled her closer, till their faces were inches apart.

"You know sacrificing your soul _is not_ gonna save those people" his usually gentler voice was now laced with steel, and he felt her tremble in his arms.

"If they have any hope left" he continued, his face grave, "that hope resides in _you…_ You're the only one that can keep away this menace_"_

She shook her head in fierce denial.

"What good am I, huh! I was supposed to protect them and I _failed_! They have trespassed my shield, and I had created that shield with _all of my power_!" she exclaimed, filled with remorse. "Can't you see? I'm not like you, Son Goku! It's no use no matter how much I fight for them… I wasn't strong enough even to keep my own loved ones safe"

Usagi was still staring hard at the ground, her eyes hazy.

"That's the reason I wanted to set you free… I thought you would make a better protector than me; after all, you've saved this universe before… You're not like I am, Goku, you're a true warrior. You went through so much in your life and never gave up…"

She sighed.

"I thought I could do it too, that I could handle this heavy weigh on my shoulders… but I can't…"

Goku frowned as her voice quivered.

"I think it's time to accept my weakness…"

The look of utter hopelessness had fully returned on her face. Goku pressed his brains to say something… _anything_… to bring her out of that desolate state.

_She must regain her self confidence… Other way Hope City… may be this galaxy will be at this evil's mercy…_

_And, truthfully, I know nothing about this being._

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself" he blurted out sharply.

Serenity's haunted eyes bored into his immediately.

His eyes softened.

"You're not weak… Your people say you're strong and that you'll pull your way through this" he murmured "How can they ever be wrong when they so firmly believe in you? Did you know they named their city after their _Kibou no Hikari_?"

Usagi's eyes widened as she straightened up.

She had been so immersed in her own grief, her problems and preoccupations; she had never stopped to think…

She bit her lip until it hurt.

"I'm not strong enough, though…" her eyes became teary for the third time that day "I tried so many times, I fought so hard… and yet I still couldn't defeat Chaos!"

The vice grip on her arms, that had been loosening gradually, turned now into a slight caress.

He understood her feeling, the despair of being cornered in a never ending war…

Cause that was the same kind of feeling Goku had sensed already in someone else before.

In Mirai no Trunks.

The words that came next were so softly spoken that she barely registered them.

"Then please… let me help you"

She looked up, and this time, it was she who felt herself drawn towards the coal black orbs staring at her so intently.

"You don't have to be alone"

And she found herself remembering how the love of her loved ones, and her own love for them back, had always been her pillar of strength and faith.

_I almost want to believe in what you say… that everything's gonna be okay…_

His eyes were almost drowning her into their warm.

Once again, Selene's words echoed in her mind.

…_You will love again… _

…_you will love him…_

…But the thought made her scared.

_You make me feel so safe… But I know, deep down, it can only be an illusion…_

"I can't"

She pulled away from him.

Goku opted to finally let go, but floated towards Serenity anyway, still holding her gaze.

He felt a bit kind of empty, now that he was no longer holding her.

His chest ached again.

_Why does she affect me so?_

"You can't..?" he started.

"…Or you _won't_..?"

_He had to know. _

She froze, uncertain, staring at him as if trying to read through his features what he meant with that question.

"Why are you doing this!"

She finally had had it.

"What do I have to do to tell you to stay away from me!" she yelled, exhausted from so much fighting, so much loss and suffering. "This is _not_ your world, _not_ your war, _not_ your business! I _can't_ get you involved, it was wrong of me to ever try…"

She paused to take a breath.

"Why did you even come here!"

Her sudden demand was met by an expression she could not read.

"Because you want to die…" he answered finally, truthfully.

"…and I won't be able live with myself if I let you"

-

Emerald green eyes glanced the scene in front of her: a horde of shadowy demons, one of the many kinds among the Hollow Hunters, was advancing through the forests, covering them whole like a thicken black mist, while trying to make their way towards the sole standing enclave for the refugees of Earth.

Sailor Juno stopped and kneeled on the ground, exhausted, gashes covering her legs and arms. She was hoping to regain enough strength to re- enter the battle, if she remained immobile for a while.

_It sounded ludicrous, but the truth was they were currently fighting in front of the gates of the very last human city… _

She gazed to her right, where her fellow scouts Pallas and Vesta were still at it against the creatures.

"Vestal Hearth Fire Blaze!" she heard the ginger scout's pearcing scream.

"Okeanos Whirlpool Centripetal Spiral!" Pallas yelled at the same time, as she too launched her attack.

Not far away, the green haired disciple of the late Sailor Jupiter could also distinguish the silhouettes of their other three Dead Moon Circus fellow ex-recruits:

Thrusting her arms forward, a curly long aqua haired woman was reciting her assault.

"Derceto's Tangled Net Trap!"

In accord with those words, a glowing blue large fishing net materialized on Fish Eye's hands. It was as strong, solid and real as the old Love Chain of Sailor Venus' early years; Fish Eye quickly threw the opposite end atop a good amount of demons, successfully hindering their advance.

Soon enough, Hawk Eye and Tiger Eye's own voices followed.

"Horus Sword Beheading!"

"Shiva's Dance Rapture!"

They were using their non-senshi, though still magical powers, to try to keep the demons at bay.

Juno had to smile in spite of herself. Even when the blows used by the former Amazon Trio were nowhere near as powerful and effective as any of the scouts', they still were trying their hardest to aid them in this predicament.

That, she reflected, was a valid enough reason for the Asteroid Senshi to give it their best along with them, until Sailor Ceres finally arrived with Neo Queen Serenity, the only person they knewn capable of purifying this awfully gloomy youmas.

Since the death of the older senshi and the terrible loss of their darling princess, the Asteroid Quartet had had found a way to keep believing in the taking upon themselves of the purpose to help Sailor Cosmos protect the Earth survivors as much as they could, swearing to be at their Queen's side, and guard her against the adversity, as their beloved teachers would have done.

So she ignored the pain struck running all through her spine as she summed her own contribution to the efforts of her comrades.

"Hera's Peacock Feather Iridescence!"

She observed as a brightly multi-colored fan of light opened itself from her palm, sending millions of electric sparks that flew away from the ethereal object in her out stretched hand, to meld in a single powerful blast sailing towards a bunch of fast approaching _cursed_.

She returned her five friends' tired smiles of approval for being so early back in the team as she went to them, but their contented exchange was cut short when they were surrounded by a mob of hissing demons.

Sailor Pallas couldn't contain a whimper as she clung to Fish Eye's arm for all that she was worth, shivering noticeably at the prospect of being energy- drained to death, while the two males present, Tiger Eye and Hawk Eye, valiantly positioned themselves in front of the girls in a protective gesture. However, they too felt the cold breath of fear on the back of their necks, and took a couple of steps back, when they saw the beings start to close in on them, backing them all six up against one another…

"Proserpine Flower Spring Symphony!" was the only resonating scream heard as what looked remarkably like a huge storm of pollen swept over the Hollow Hunters, creating a big furrow that tore the prefect circle of growling menacing demons.

"Cere-Cere!" Pallas exclaimed, happily relieved.

The pink haired senshi in the tattered uniform went to join them in a slow but steady pace. She was instantaneously surrounded by the other three Asteroids, who were ecstatic to find themselves finaly reunited with their partner.

Vesta smirked as she asked.

"The Queen healed you, right?"

Ceres nodded, fatigued.

"Let's take care of this nasty youmas" she breathed.

Sailor Juno was eager to agree. "Let's show them what we got…"

END TO THE SIXTH CHAPTER

2nd A/N: Woa, another cliffhanger! I'm pretty sure some of you are whishing to strangle me right now… But, hey! It's finally getting interesting! Besides, this chapter alone gave e _a lot_ of work… and I was very happy to at last put an end to it.

Now, the reason Fish Eye is a **she** instead of a **he**, like in the original series, is something that will be told later on… So don't go and review trying to correct me about that "mistake"!

As for the new attacks: yes… they're made up. Go easy on me, please… I actually burned my brains out trying to think of some that made sense. I actually had no idea what the Asteroid Senshi attacks were beside their collective "Amazon Jungle Arrow"… AND, being sixteen years old now, they wouldn't be using the same attacks they did when they were younger… would they? On the other hand, I also had to make up some blasts for the Amazon Trio absolutely out of nowhere … Here's the deal: if you can guess the reasons behind any attack in particular, I'll dedicate the next chapter to you… 

Once more, please don't forget to review!

Jay.


	7. Fear is Born of the Night

_Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or Dragon Ball/Z/GT because…THEY'RE REAL! THEY EXIST! I SWEAR THEY REALLY DO EXIST! I JUST TALKED TO GOKU THE OTHER DAY, AS HE WALKED MY NEIGHBOURHOOD. THEY'RE REAL! (Men in white uniforms come take her screaming and kicking to the Nut House). _

_Fear is born of the Night_

The dark purple-haired female seriously couldn't help but gradually become more and more concerned as time went by, hands fidgeting nervously with a handkerchief, impatiently waiting for a certain black-haired and eyed Saiyan or at least a certain blond Queen to appear at the entrance of the villa, so that she could put all her troubling thoughts to rest.

All she wanted was to make sure once Goku came back that things hadn't gotten out of hands with Serenity; the maurian advisor had the oddest hunch, telling her things were far from well with her charge. Something else, other than Chaos' persecutions and Kunzite's insinuated threats, was not right.

She couldn't explain it, she couldn't explain how she knew, but the fact was that she did. Ever since the day Usagi returned, the maurian had experienced this sense of foreboding go off in alarm.

Luna didn't like this feeling. It felt too much like the proverbial calm before the storm.

_Should I go check on them. Would it be unwise to intrude…? _

_Why isn't Goku coming back?_

…_Ishe coming back at all or has he decided to stay with her? If he has, then he should remember to let us know so that we don't worry over him! _

Having already walked the length of the hallway back-and-forth at least nine times, the maurian decided it was time to go wait for them at the front door, in case they were visibly and undoubtedly on their way towards the house already whereas she was standing there like an idiot trying hard not to pull at her own hair in a burst of frustration and paranoia.

Anxious steps turned around the corner walking past the main door's threshold and onto the deserted porch at the front of the residence, silent and quieting at this hour of the afternoon. Luna just stood there studying the faraway end of the cobbled path that disappeared from view once getting across the outer line of trees amongst the dense forest, a light breeze lifting a few locks of her dark purplish hair. But that was not to be the cause of her distress.

It was the very scent of danger in the air.

Something was definitely not right.

Maroon pools directed their sight towards the burning bright star setting into the horizon, cold fear filling them to the core at the very unsettling scene reflecting in their depths as it was taking place in front of the now very dread-struck woman.

_She knew there were still a good five hours before sunset, henceforth its coming this early could only mean one thing_

The hand that grasped the handkerchief tightened considerably around the delicate piece of cloth, rising from her position at the side of the woman's thigh to be clasped by the other over her chest, as if the gesture would make an attempt at stopping the woman's racing heart. Then, the other hand let go of the one clutching the handkerchief to rise and cover the woman's mouth; the universal proper gesture to express pure and utter shock with not less intense disbelief.

In slow motion, Luna felt the scream tear through her throat before she'd even let it out.

"HEELIOOOSSS!"

"I'm here, Luna" came the surprisingly close reply from the youth; he'd only been a couple of steps behind the maurian when she screamed for his name, even though she hadn't heard him coming after her at all, busy as she was with the despairing vision far ahead.

He looked at the older female questioningly.

"What is it?"

"Look at the sky!"

The panicked note in her voice made him fear the worst, and when the maurian advisor pointed in the direction of the sunset, the High Priest of Elysion almost refused to look, in fear of what he might actually see.

When he did look, it was just as he had guessed. Darkness was starting to taint the wideness of the Elysian firmament. Darkness not that which was naturally and predictably brought at the end of day with the foreseen arrival of the night, but the vast, looming darkness only true, untarnished evil could emit.

Helios' lips pursed as his facial expression grew stoic.

"Luna" he turned to the frightened woman "where is Neo Queen Serenity?"

* * *

"Look, I know you don't want me here and think I'm only getting in your way, and I know you've had quite the hard time" Goku admitted "but I'm not gonna just sit around and watch you do this"

"Do _what_ exactly?" Serenity all but snarled at him with what was starting to become permanent embittered anger.

"Bring harm to yourself. Besides" he looked at her, his eyes pleading with her to understand, "what you want to accomplish, that way, it's not gonna last…" he shook his head for emphasis.

The hardness in her eyes didn't leave, but still he saw that it wavered, their resolve for the first time truly hesitating.

Goku decided that he couldn't lose this golden opportunity.

"Look inside" he challenged, serious, "just look inside your heart, _for real_, right now, and tell me you still really believe, with every ounce of your being that the enemy will leave the earth citizens alone once you've given it your star-seed"

She stared at him, unblinking, while he waited patiently for an answer that he knew would never come.

For the longest moment, charcoal black clashed with deep ocean-blue in an intense though unspoken battle.

Then the blue broke the steel gaze, in silent acceptance and submission.

The Saiyan regarded the fragile woman in front of him with an ache in his own chest.

_How he wanted to make it all better for her, someway, somehow_

However, he resisted the impulse, knowing he couldn't be lenient if he truly wanted to get his point across the blanket of hopelessness and heart-ache that numbed her vision.

"Serenity, don't lie to yourself any longer" Goku whispered.

It was as if she was carrying a heavy weight in her chest and could no longer support it, her limbs shaking uncontrollably as she knew her strength was quickly leaving her to have it all soon crumble on top of her, burying her soul alive under a mountain of concrete.

She'd gotten used to carrying the unbearable charge all by herself now; knowing nobody else around her would be able to help without the risk of loosing their own lives. She'd never wanted anyone else to suffer the way she had and currently was, so now it was so hard letting go of any part of the burden, even if it meant passing it onto the shoulders of the universe's strongest physical-combat fighter and hero.

The fear, the loneliness, the need to spare him the horrors she knew he would have to endure if she allowed herself to let him in… it all mixed-up, and boiled and twisted and thrashed and clawed at the core of her very being, desperately wanting out.

And then Usagi collapsed.

She did finally and completely; to be caught for another time yet instantly by the arms of a much relieved saiyajin.

"It's ok. I'll take care of you. I'll protect you" he murmured in her ear, while she took refuge in the secure nest of his powerful arms once again, although this would be first time she would do it consciously and willingly.

"God! It hurts… so, so much!" he heard her cry in a much breaking voice.

Goku once again found himself caressing the back of the broken angel in his arms tenderly.

"It'll be alright, I know it doesn't seem that way right now, but eventually, you will feel better. Not even the worst of grieves is eternal, my sweet, so the pain won't last forever; you will heal. You will heal, and someday, you'll find happiness again. I know it. You just have to believe it, and then you will"

His voice didn't waver the tiniest bit, confident and passionate.

"I promise it'll be okay… Serena"

Neither noticed the use of the new nickname, nor commented on it. Goku was content just to bury his nose in her silvery mane and welcome the intense sensation of happiness that coursed through him due to her mere proximity, to the close touch of her body so tightly and fully against his.

No fighting, no uncertainties, no reservations, fear or resistance…

Just… feeling.

It was a powerful one, rising from the very centre of his heart, deep, strong, unrelenting, warm, fulfilling, happiness, completeness like no other sentiment he had ever experienced with anyone.

He dazedly wondered where such a potent feeling was coming from, and then what place he could take her to where they wouldn't be disturbed, and that was the moment his mind finally awakened back to reality.

_The Hollow Hunters, Hope City, the star-seeds!_ These people and Queen Serenity were counting on him. _What was he thinking!_

'_How can I be thinking of doing that at a time like this? Have I gone crazy!' _He yelled at himself, shocked beyond words at his behaviour. _'Has being in Shenlong's world with no true female contact for so long truly affected me this much that it's clouding my mind?'_

He glanced at the woman in his grasp disbelievingly, eyes wide-open.

'_We barely even know each other… What the hell is wrong with me'_

A torn look covered Goku's features. _'I can't do this right now! _

He needed to pull away and take care of the Hunters, and then he would try to figure out what was happening to him.

_We have to hurry_

Soon the warrior decided he would use his Instant Transmission to take him and the Silver Senshi to the city of Hope so that they could help the Asteroid Scouts and allies to battle against the _cursed folk_.

He decided he would tell the Queen what he was going to do, so as to not take her by surprise and frighten her unnecessarily.

"Serenity…"

That was when a muffled moan interrupted him.

As if she had been reading his previous thoughts, Serenity pulled away, meeting his eyes with a look of pain.

"Huh?" the warrior looked at her not understanding "Serenity… I─"

"Goku…" she breathed in what close to become a tortured sigh.

She was suddenly looking ghostly pale and pained, and Goku grew more and more confused. Sweat had started to trail down her forehead when he hadn't been looking. The saiyan immediately realized that for some unknown reason at the moment she was feeling extremely unwell.

"Seren─"

Before he had the chance to say or think anything else, there was another flash of light and she de-transformed, fainting clear away, her body slipping through his fingers out of the smoothness of her silky dress and dropping all the way to the ground, her hair spilling like a large golden blanket all around her.

Goku looked down alarmingly at her unconscious form. He couldn't understand why this was happening so out of the blue.

"Serenity..? What is it! What's wrong! Serenity?"

He crouched down, touched her face and marvelled at how cold her skin had suddenly become. Lifting her up to sitting position, he began shaking her gently when he realized she was deeply out of it.

Goku felt himself slowly growing panicked.

"Are you ill? Usagi?" he tried calling her by her usual nickname, shaking her with a bit more force to no avail "Please, answer me. Can you hear me? Wake up! What's happening to you…Open your eyes… …USAGI!"

* * *

'_Getting read of the nasty youmas'_, like Ceres had put it, was proving to be more difficult than it sounded. The sky all above Hope City and it surroundings was currently darker than the darkest sunset, since the demons had called the night earlier to envelop everything so that they could attack from their safe hideouts within the Dark.

They could not see where the demons were coming, for they could barely see anything, their main source of light coming from their own magical strikes. They just waited until some of them approached enough to become visible, and then attacked them with all their might. They were afraid not only for their people, but because they knew that, if the youmas came close enough, touched them long enough, they could feed of their energy to the point of exhaustion, growing stronger as the Asteroid senshi and their allies grew weaker and eventually lost their consciousness.

It had turned into a desperate fight for survival.

Their magical powers, though strong ones, took a precious amount of time to turn the shadow-made forms to dust. They could only hope to aim them in the right direction in time to vanquish as many of them as possible, before the others regrouped in a massive offensive again. Fish-Eye was doing the best she could to keep her liquid nest raised high in the air like a protective wall in order to guard the city from all of the fronts the demons were showing, while Hawk Eye and Tiger-Eye did their best to guard the Asteroid's backs, but the seven of them just weren't enough, as they were all slowly realizing.

Sailor Pallas gave an ear-splitting scream when the claw of a demon pierced her skin on her right arm just before she attempted to purify it. The light blue-haired senshi feel to her knees clutching her wounded limb in agony, her eyes shut tightly and releasing a few tears, so she didn't even hear when Sailor Vesta jumped to her rescue, vaporizing the shadow looming over her menacingly, with a proper launch of her Vestal Hearth Fire Blaze in just a couple of seconds.

When Fish-Eye realized Pallas' predicament, she hastily separated a part of the large fishing-net and sent it spreading widely against the demons approaching the Senshi of Wisdom, with such a force and speed that it caught almost all the ones heading for their group, and successfully forcing them to retreat for a while.

Vesta run to her friend frantically, crouching next to her and taking a look at the deep cut in her arm.

"Palla-Palla! Are you okay?"

Seeing she only got a wince in response, Vesta directed her gaze towards their leader standing a few feet to their left.

"Dammit, CereCere!" she yelled "I thought you said the Queen was coming!"

"And she is" Ceres merely stated, not taking her eyes off the enemy ahead "We mustn't' be distracted, we have to hold them off until she comes"

Vesta frowned at her and growled.

"Well then pray tell me when that'll be?" she roared "In case you haven't noticed, Ceres, we're being slaughtered here!"

At these words Hawk-Eye and Tiger-Eye turned to the two of them with a questioning glance.

"Ves?" Tiger-Eye murmured, but Vesta had all her attention focused on the Asteroids leader.

The Senshi of Nature Renewal turned to her red-head friend and her determined eyes met with the dispair-filled eyes of Sailor Vesta. VesVes was hiding it well, but CereCere could still see it. She was growing scared and even though she would never admit to it, she still reacted exploding with hardly suppressed anger, unleashing it towards the closest person she thought could somehow be at fault.

Vesta didn't like feeling scared, never had, and never would. Ceres new she had to try to at least try to ease her friend's dismay in some way or Vesta would have a hard time enduring the rest of the fight. Like her name suggested it, the Senshi of the Sacred Hearth found her strength in the fierceness of her own emotions. When she couldn't maintain her faith in a better future it ended affecting her fighting will drastically.

Ceres' eyes focused on Vesta's blood-red ones unblinking.

"No matter what happens" she started "we mustn't give up, we must keep fighting, and believe in the Queen now more than ever, for she's the only one that can save us and save our future"

"Of course that's true, are you girls suggesting otherwise?" Hawk-Eye interjected, eager to dissipate any doubts, not knowing what exactly it was that was happening, but still feeling something was amiss between the Senshi's of the Sacred Hearth and Nature's Renewal. He knew that, with their Princess gone, the one that would always keep them stick together, since she'd been gone the four Asteroids had had a hard time coping and trying not to allow their sorrow be the excuse for starting an argument among each other. However, Hawk-Eye's comment didn't seem to faze or at least reach any of the addressed females since they were still holding their stares unperturbed and locked.

Juno and the Amazon Trio looked at their two quarrelling friends with curiosity. Vesta was about to speak again when Ceres stopped her.

"But that doesn't mean" she continued saying "that we mustn't ourselves give our all so that our world has a chance of surviving. We're sailor soldiers, too, and we are going to fight on our own as many times as it is necessary so that Chaos gets what it deserves for murdering our families!" she finished in a yell that surprised Vesta.

Ceres' eyes became teary, and VesVes felt guilt begin to eat her from the inside for having being so inconsiderate of her leader's own suffering.

"Those were our friends, our loved ones… too, and we can't just rely on the Queen, waiting for her to get revenge for _everything_ that Chaos took from _all of us_…" Ceres murmured "We can not, we _are not_, gonna depend on the Queen, to fight every single one of our battles… …we're gonna show those bastards who we are to make sure they find out of our existence!"

Vesta's eye widened for a while, and then closed again. She nodded in comprehension and agreement.

"CereCere's right, guys" came the voice of Palla-Palla as she was struggling to get up "I won't give up, either. I am not gonna let this enemies, no matter how monstrous, to scare me." she supported her weight on Vesta's shoulder and weakly managed to stand "I will fight along with you guys till the end!"

Hawk-Eye and Tiger-Eye looked at one another, then at Fish-Eye, and smiled.

"So will us!" they yelled in unison, turning towards the Asteroids Quartet.

Ceres nodded at all of them in gratitude while Juno and Vesta looked on in amazement: Palla-Palla had always been the most fearful out of the four of them. JunJun recovered soon enough, though, and grinned at her fellow scout encouragingly.

"Right" she said, without the tiniest bit of sarcasm. Her eyes caught something out of the corner of her sight, and her face glowed with enthusiasm.

"Guys! Look!" she exclaimed, pointing.

Immediately, the rest of the Asteroids and the other three magical warriors turned their gaze towards the direction she pointed, to the group's right. Faraway in the sky there was an eerie glow getting wider and wider as it looked like it was coming their way fast.

Sailor Pallas looked at it blankly while Vesta narrowed her eyes.

"What _is_ that?" she wondered out loud.

Sailor Ceres, who was frowning too, looked at her and then turned to Juno questioningly.

"Jun?"

The Senshi of Commitment smirked at her while she regarded her leader with vibrant emerald eyes that said everything. CereCere opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it only to close it again, taken by surprise. She quickly turned to Vesta with a smirk that imitated Juno's.

Vesta's face brightened.

"They're coming! They've come to help us!" she squealed with excitement while they all watched with renewed hope as the glow got nearer and nearer enough to make all the fairy individuals within it discernible.

END TO THE SEVENTH CHAPTER.

A/N: I'm sure many of you were wondering when this update was going to appear. Well, fear not, my dear PC addicts. I have a pretty good idea of where chapter eight will be going; that being so I'll update sooner next time.

Love,

Jay.


	8. A Flower's Awakening

_Disclaimer: I d-don't o-wn a-n-nything! I said, I-I-I don't ow-own a thing! I don't own anything, please believe me! (She falls to her knees trembling)._

A/N: I just feel so damn depressed now, damn! Just reading Katlin Grace's summary for "Through a Child's Eyes" made me feel so sad inside. Damn she's good with words!

Anyway, here's the new chapter.

Enjoy!

Chapter Eight: _A Flower's Awakening_

Saying the Asteroids and co. were happy wouldn't quite describe it. When they saw who it was that was heading towards them, they were ecstatic. Sailor Juno kept smirking with a hand on her hip, watching the infinite troops of fairies, dream-elves and other magical creatures coming to their aid with the certainty that this was what was needed to safely guard Hope City. Vesta smiled in relief, supporting Palla-Palla while the younger Asteroid waved her arms excitingly and called again and again "Here! We're in here!" and Ceres felt herself overwhelmed with relief.

"Seems you guys could use a bit of help" a boasting and cheerful Peruru asked from the air above them while waving his flute about, his huge rainbow-like wings wide spread in the wind, scattering little tiny sparks of lights and colours all around him, like the widely known fairy-dust.

"Took you _long enough_!" A blue-haired female protested, huffing up at him.

Peruru blinked at her amusedly.

"Is that how you thank your saviours, Fish-san?" he teased.

"You little brat! Just wait till I come up there!" Fish-Eye roared, ticked off. The little brat always got the best of her!

"Tdwehehe! Sure! See you later 'Oh-Fish-Sama'!" he waved goodbye and flew off to join the others, who were currently aligning the length of her liquid magical net so as to help her make it much more resistant to the demons' claws and keep it raised high against the enemy.

"And it's MISS Fish-_EYE_ to you, gayish fairytale little git!" Fish-Eye demanded after him, but never knew if Peruru heard her or not.

Tiger-Eye and Hawk-Eye just looked at each other and snickered.

Meanwhile CereCere, feeling suddenly very exhausted, allowed herself to fall on her hands and knees. A few unrestrained tears managed to escape her eyes, before she felt a hand come to rest on her shoulder. Turning around, she met with the understanding eyes of Vesta.

"I'm sorry I lashed out at you like that."

Ceres shook her head.

"Don't worry about it, we're all quite shaken still" she directed her gaze towards the farer demons who had dodged Fish-Eye's trapping net and where currently coming their way "Besides, we better concentrate on _them_ right now"

The other girl nodded.

It was certainly a good idea to do that, since the things were coming at them at full speed. Ceres drew in a breath and prepared to launch her attack once more. Her 'Proserpine Flower Spring Symphony' was soon followed by Vesta's Hearth Fire Blaze…

"Ceres! Watch out!" they heard Hawk-Eye's scream.

Caught off guard, CereCere first glanced at him and quickly turned to her left to see what had caused his alarm. She didn't see anything, but when she heard the deep throaty hiss from behind her, she understood: a Hunter had sneaked behind her while hidden from view thanks to her and Vesta's combined attacks. She never had the time to react, though, for as soon as the monster made to lash at her, she was brutally pushed out of the way by Vesta.

"VEES!" CereCere screamed when she saw the demon grab Vesta by the arm and start draining her energy despite her struggles to get free from its grasp. However, Ceres' intervention was no longer needed when Hawk Eye decapitated the monster with his sword, and grabbing Vesta's arm fast made a run for Sailor Ceres and away from there before the blasted thing finished regenerating itself.

"Ves!" CereCere exclaimed once she was reunited with her friend "That was so stupid, you know, it could have killed you!"

The red-haired senshi scowled at her.

"Yeah, well, you weren't moving! He could have killed you just the same!"

"Don't be stupid! You know I can take care of myself!"

"Yeah, well so do I! I'm not a little girl for you to lecture me like Luna-san, I will do as I please!" the Senshi of the Sacred Hearth exploded.

"Ves…" speechless, CereCere regarded her in silence.

Crimson bangs shielded her face when Vesta bowed her head. "I just don't wanna loose anyone else… Reenie and Hino-san were bad enough. Hino-san, she was like a mother to me, my sensei, and now that she's gone I don't now what to do; and Reenie… Rennie…─" Vesta swallowed a deep breath, trembling slightly before finishing "─…I don't even wanna talk about it"

Ceres and Hawk-Eye exchanged troubled looks. This time it was Sailor Ceres who grabbed Vesta by the arm.

"We're gonna get her back"

Ves tensed and lifted her head towards her with a piercing stare.

"How?" That was all the fiery amazon said, but Cere couldn't help but shudder under the strength of that gaze.

"I don't know" she admitted serenely, "but we will; we have to"

Vesta's red eyes were overflowing with her non-spoken rage and sadness, but she refused to cry right then. She wanted so much to believe somehow someone would grant them their miracle, but her practical mind would only allow her to fool herself so far. She wanted the miracle, prayed for it, craved it with all her heart; but she didn't think she'd be able to bear it if she only managed to delude herself. She didn't say a word when her fellow senshi grasped her hand pulling her to her feet.

"Come, Ves, you can't stay here all alone. We must help the others, they need us"

'_Gods, how I wish Reenie was here. She was always a lot better with words and handling this kind of situations than I am…'_

* * *

"Mum, I'm scared…"

"What is it, sweetie"

"Will those ugly monsters come here and hurt you and me and daddy?"

"You have nothing to fear, sweetheart. Everything's gonna be alright"

"You sure?"

"Of course, darling. You see the golden glow out there?"

"Yeah?"

"Those are the Elysion armies; they'll keep the City protected"

"You think they're gonna break those monsters so that they don't harm us?"

"They won't let that happen, neither them nor the Sailor Senshi will"

"Are the Senshi really out there too?"

"Yes baby"

"What are they doing?"

"They are fighting… they're fighting for us"

"And daddy? Where's daddy, mummy?"

"Daddy's fighting too"

* * *

A certain Saiyan was officially quite nervous. He had shook Serenity and called her name at least another ten times and she still hadn't awaken. What made him even more flustered was that she'd seem perfectly healthy just minutes ago, and then she'd apparently started growing sick completely out of the blue, passing out before telling him what was wrong with her.

Goku made sure that she wasn't having any trouble breathing; checked her pulse, peered through her eyelids to check what state her eyes were in and then her mouth to see if he could get any clue on her sickness, but obviously he was no doctor and couldn't find any signs that in his eyes were particularly meaningful. Absurd though it may seem, he'd even ITed to the lake down the waterfall and gotten some water so that he could try splashing her in the face! Yet that still didn't gain him anything.

"Kami damn it, Usagi! Wake up! Luna's gonna kill me if she sees you like this!"

Although her skin wasn't getting any warmer either, adding more to Goku's worried state of mind, it was when her heart beating gradually began to slow down and she started gaping for air while still unconscious, looking for all the world like she was choking, that the warrior decided it was time to take desperate measures; he would perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, on Serenity.

'_Please, it has to work out. Please, work out. Don't die, Serenity! You can't die! Please don't die on me I no longer have the dragonballs to bring you back!' _the Saiyan thought desperately while he performed the chest compression maneuver.

He made a pause to give her mouth-to-mouth respiration, leaning down to bring his mouth over hers, but when his lips made contact with Serenity's Goku froze.

It felt as if he'd been electrocuted, as if there'd been an exchange of physical electricity between them, yet it felt so incredibly good… so amazingly wonderful…Goku'd have never expected how soft her lips were, or the intense warmth that travelled across his body as he shivered in undisguised pleasure.

He couldn't understand why his body reacted so strongly to her mere proximity. This was a far cry from whatever sexual attractions he'd ever experienced before. He'd never been _that_ much into carnal desires or vulnerable to sexual frustration before, he'd usually get rid of it for the most part with his often so rigorous training, so he'd never had such cravings for physical attention… or had he?

Unfortunately, Chichi was not around to be consulted about her opinion on the matter.

"Goku-san?" Goku jumped slightly at the sound of the unexpected voice, hastily pulling apart from the blond-haired Queen, and turned around to great this newcomer.

'_It just had to be one of the people who have almost undetectable Ki's. What if he saw? He'll think I was taking advantage of her!' _

'_**Weren't you, though?' **another sneaky voice inside his head commented._

'_Of course not!'_

…

…

…_Was I…?'_

'_**Ah. Not so sure now, are we?' **the voice taunted._

'_I am not that kind of man!' Goku practically screamed in his head._

'_**But you would like to be, wouldn't you, Goku?'**_

'_WHAT!'_

'_**Admit it!' **mocked the imaginary little devil-Goku as it materialized over his shoulder._

_Goku looked at it wildly. _

_Was he finally going crazy? _

"What are you suggesting!" he yelled mortified.

Helios looked at him not understanding. "Excuse me? Suggesting what, Goku-san?"

Goku blinked at him.

Then a thought hit him like a boomerang. He instantly went to check on the unconscious woman.

"Usagi!"

"It's okay, Goku-san, your quick performance of CPR was able to get her out of danger, and managed to stabilize her. She just isn't waking up yet, for some odd reason"

The boy's face became very serious as he continued.

"We must find a way to wake her up, though. I already sent Peruru to gather the magical beings and go assist the Asteroid Quartet and Amazon Trio…but I don't know how long they'll be able to keep it up"

Goku turned towards the boy, understanding the graveness of the matter, and all the while berating at himself mentally. _'I can't believe I spaced out like that!'_

He was thankful that the boy had apparently chosen not to bring it up again.

"Can you find out what this is about, Helios?" he asked, pointing at the still form lying on the ground.

"Perhaps. As the High Priest of Elysion, I have gained certain healing abilities. Nothing like Cosmos' or the ones Endymion-sama and Saturn-san used to have, but it's still worth a try"

Goku nodded.

"Better test it out".

The youth quickly assented in agreement and proceeded to put both hands over Serenity's upper chest. A faint golden glow, darker than that of Usagi's crescent birthmark, spread from his hands and onto her body to finally envelope her in its pacifying aura. Usagi's paleness and sweat disappeared entirely, but she still wasn't waking up.

The blue-haired Priest glanced down at her dejectedly.

"Still nothing; usually this kind of spell would have already brought her back to consciousness, but she's still out of it… What can we do, Goku-san?" he asked the Saiyan hopefully.

Ever since the older man's arrival Helios had the distinct impression that surely such an experienced fighter and consummated warrior ought to be able to get through anything. Helios kept casting the healing spell, though, to see if that brought any other changes.

Goku, on the other hand, wasn't much surer himself of what else could be done. This situation was extremely dear, seeing the younger Senshi were probably down there either still fighting the enemy or getting killed in the process with the people of the human City; wasting any more time was a luxury they no longer could afford and from the bad vibes Goku got the girls were in great need of _urgent _assistance in _that very moment_, but they could neither afford fleeing to their rescue right then and risk leaving Serenity all by herself in the woods in her unconscious condition, perfectly vulnerable to any attack.

'_Kami! What a bad day this one's turning out to be'_

However, soon he came with an idea.

"Helios, can I ask you something?"

The boy made a brief pause while still casting his healing magic. Considering the circumstances, the young priest was surprised at the question.

"Of course, Goku-san"

"When you cast that spell, you only send a bit of your magic onto Serenity, am I right?"

Helios nodded, not quite comprehending to what the Saiyan was alluding.

"Yes, that is basically it. But why do you ask, Goku-san? Do you think it has something to do with the reason the spell isn't working?"

The warrior grinned as he arrived to some unknown conclusion.

"It might have everything to do, Helios. The healing's not working 'cause it's meant to treat only physical and mental wounds caused solely by magic, but what Serenity has is a condition provoked by and in both magical and biological levels" _'Man, Bulma would have been proud at me if she had just heard that'_

The blue-haired boy abruptly raised his head to stare at the older man with unwavering attention.

"So you're saying you've discovered what's wrong with the Queen?"

"Yes, that has to be it! Listen, I think that if you and I do this together, you casting your healing spell and I sending some of my Ki into Serenity, then I believe we will manage to wake her up!"

Helios nodded his head and smiled. "I trust you, Goku-san"

Goku nodded back at him. "Thank you… Let's do it!"

Both the older male and the younger one put their hands over the blond woman's upper chest, now, each liberating their powers and onto her body at the same time. This created a darker, brighter golden glow that looked a lot more powerful than the boy's previous attempted healing.

Both their gazes were focused one the face of the dormant blonde, waiting for any signs that might indicate this new procedure was succeeding in its intent. Seconds seemed like hours, minutes seemed like days to the two men until they finally saw a flicker of response from their so called 'patient'.

"Look, Goku-san! It's working! It's really working now!"

Both held their breaths when Serenity slowly and finally opened her eyes.

END TO THE EIGHTH CHAPTER.

A/N: The reason of Serenity's fainting fit will be uncovered in the next chapter. So, if you really want to know, you already know what you have to do…

Please don't forget to review!

JAY


	9. Arriving in the nick of time

_Disclaimer: My lawyers lost the case against my mother and Santa Claus for not getting me the ownership of Dragon Ball/Z/GT for Christmas, and now they've taken everything I've got. So I don't own anything… much less Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z._

Chapter 9: _Arriving in the nick of time_

She had finally awoken, but that hadn't eased Goku's worries that much. He just waited as the blond Queen blinked a few times, focusing her vision, first to look at Helios, and then at him, with a look of confusion.

"My Queen" Helios rushed to ask eagerly "are you alright?"

Serenity looked up at him with a glassy stare, narrowing her eyes and struggling to rise up to a sitting position, as Helios supported her. "…Where am I...? What happened?"

"You fainted, Serenity" Goku told her, looking at her pensively "You don't remember?"

Usagi lifted her sight towards the two of them with dismay.

"I did..? Oh! I remember now…" she blurted as she was struck with memory.

"Yes, My Lady, we were very concerned. It was very serious; for a while you weren't breathing. Then I tried the healing spell and you still wouldn't arise, but Goku-san seemed to come up with an idea and proposed we treated you with the spell and an infusion of Ki at the same time." Helios explained briefly.

Serenity sent a nervous glance at Goku for a couple of seconds, but recovered soon enough.

"Is that so…? Oh, well I guess I should thank you, then"

The Saiyan shook his head "There's no need for it, I'd rather much more if you could explain to us why it happened"

The request made Usagi pale slightly again.

"That's right, Majesty. Do you have any idea why you might have fainted like that?" the High Priest inquired.

At the question Usagi started fidgeting and gesticulated dismissingly, as she said: "It was nothing. You don't need to worry, Helios. I'm sure I'll be fine now", and slowly struggled to get up. But her petty try only managed to fuel Goku's suspicions even more.

That was when she finally remembered what had been eating at her, though.

"Helios! What has been of Hope City? Are they safe? Where are the Asteroid senshi, is Sailor Ceres alright?" she asked blubberingly, making Helios place a hand on her shoulder in an appeasing fashion.

"That's okay, Lady. The Elysian armies are protecting the City at this very moment"

Serenity smiled with gratitude and relief.

"Then we have to get there as soon as we can" she said as she fully got up.

"Excuse me, Serenity, but something's bothering me?" Goku wondered out loud, scratching his head and stopping her in her tracks as she'd already started to summon her Cosmos staff.

Usagi turned at him tensely, but trying hard to conceal her discomfort.

"Um… Yes, Goku?" she managed to ask casually.

"I was wondering… When a person is dying, which was what it greatly looked like a moment ago; when that happens, normally the person's Ki signature starts withdrawing, slowly diminishing in intensity, as it gradually fades away. However, while you were unconscious your Ki had begun flickering like candlelight, shimmering as if your very life-force was wavering…"

Usagi's eyes, which had been progressively getting wider and wider during Goku's speech, looked like those of a deer caught in headlights.

"I have to say I never felt that ever happen to a dying person's Ki before" the warrior continued saying "and that's when I thought—"

Goku stopped talking, and made a pause in his musings to look at the gulping female.

"Serenity… This has something to do with what almost happened back there at the Eternal Realm… doesn't it?"

His gaze searched hers intently, whereas hers stared on frozen.

Helios looked from one to the other quizzically.

"Goku-san, what do you mean?" getting no response, he directed the question at the other one present "Serenity-sama, what does Goku-san mean?"

"I—I'm not sure myself, Helios" Serenity said hesitatingly, her anxiety growing with each second that passed.

"It has" Goku stated, never braking eye-contact with her, and Serenity startled, concerned as now she could see realization alight Goku's ebony pools.

He gasped in surprise "That was the reason you weren't returning to the villa, wasn't it? You didn't want any of them to find out what had happened to you"

She felt a wave of guilt rising under Goku's doubtless yet not-any-less-querying stare.

"I don't know what you mean—" Usagi tried to say, but Goku ignored her as he came towards her.

"This was _not _the first time you've felt the symptoms; was it, Serenity? Being almost successful in performing _The Ultimate Sacrifice_ took its toll on you, and you were hiding it from all of us."

She bit her lip, turned her head to the side and averted her gaze to the ground, feeling cornered and exposed.

"Serenity… why?"

"It's not that big of a deal. I'll get better soon—" she said weakly, but he immediately grabbed her arm, cutting her off.

"Why didn't you say anything? Don't you think they deserved to know?"

Usagi looked up at him pleadingly, choking with her own emotions. 

"Please… Goku…_Don't!_ Not in front of him!"

This time, Goku was the one that felt like he was breaking.

"How do you think they would all have felt if you had unexpectedly died a while ago?" he murmured, waving his arms in front of her in a gesture of overwhelmed renounce.

"I can't, I don't understand you, Usagi…"

Her eyes shimmered when she heard him call her by her old nickname, the one only Luna used for her. For the longest time since finding out of ChibiUsa and Mamoru, the Silver Senshi had been letting herself drown in a sea of self-pity and sorrow.

But now, beholding the terrible sight of miserable disappointment in Goku's eyes, for the first time since returning from the 20th Century, Usagi felt shame.

_Could I truly have been that wrong?_

She couldn't understand why looking in Goku's eyes at that moment filled her so much with the strongest, most overpowering feeling of shame.

_Selene…_

And then she knew.

…_what have I done…_

Goku wasn't one of the planetary guardians. He had neither ever been especially smart, especially saint, especially strong-willed or gifted. He had never been special in any way, period.

All he'd had was his intense attachment to his people and his unrelenting faith in the future, in a world _worth_ saving…

He had absolutely no one now; he'd been freed from the Dragon Realm only to find himself all alone. What a terrible thing it must have been for him to come to terms with. Yet he still kept going.

He had gone through almost as much as her self.

_Yet he still kept going._

And Usagi understood. Heroes weren't special people, who had traits so grandly different to the others. They were just normal people who didn't give up hope; when calamity and uncertainty feasted on their endurance, they merely held onto their faith and their conviction to at least die_ trying_.

"Goku, I—I" the now guilt-ridden woman stammered, but Goku said nothing.

He merely pulled her towards him and pressed her tightly against him. Usagi's eyes filled with confusion once more.

"W—What are you doing?" she questioned unsurely.

Goku raised his hand towards her neck. "What I almost did once, and should have done instead of listening to your fears, letting your tears stop me"

Usagi's eyes widened at his words, and she began to say something in protest, but this time Goku was indeed determined not to let her get to him, preventing him from doing what had to be done.

In the blink of an eye he knocked her out, with a move faster than what Helios' eyes could follow.

"Serenity-sama" the shocked boy whispered, watching his Queen fall to the ground for the second time that day. Goku bent his head down, letting his black bangs cover his face and his hands tightened into fists at his sides.

"She was in no condition to fight… It was—It was also my fault"

The young Priest turned to him alarmingly.

"Goku-san?"

"If I had reacted in time when we were in the Dragon Realm, I could have caught up with her, I would have prevented her from trying something so dangerous and she wouldn't have come out so seriously wounded"

Helios stared on in silence; being unaware of all the the details and thus not being able to understand, he did not know what to say, till the great warrior spoke again.

"Helios, take Serenity back with you to the villa, have Luna stay with her and watch her… But please _make sure she_ _stays _there. I'm gonna head for Hope City and see what can be done about those Hollow Hunters"

Helios nodded concurringly "Okay, Goku-san"

In that moment Goku directed his heads to the side, looking at a group of trees to their right, where the Unicorn Serenity had healed before had just showed up. Goku didn't show any surprise when the sacred creature made its way towards the knocked out female, sniffing her as if in worry, and looked up at him with what could be interpreted as reproach in his eyes, making Goku bow his head slightly in guilty embarrassment.

"Please take care of her" he said softly, but Helios wasn't sure if those words were directed towards him or towards the Unicorn. Goku rose in the air and flew off for where the battle was taking place, before the boy could even think of asking him.

For a while it seemed like the Unicorn and Helios were staring at one another, then the Priest sighed heavily as he started walking to the fallen Queen.

"Hey again, dear friend. I hope you don't mind my asking your help in carrying the Lady?" he politely requested of the animal.

The Unicorn's intelligent orbs seemed to spark with hidden amusement.

* * *

Just as Helios and the Unicorn took Serenity back to the villa, a silent figure stood hidden behind the tress, watching. Having witnessed everything, Kunzite grunted to himself, an unreadable expression in his face.

With a twirl of his cape and robes, the last Earthian General began his way towards the old Elysian Royal Palace.

* * *

"Hey Guys! Any ideas?" Sailor Juno yelled as she dodged a particularly hideous Hunters' fanged bite, making the creature howl in disappointment.

Sailor Juno couldn't help but sweat drop lightly at that. This awful beast was actually considering asking her out on a dinner! As much as JunJun was all for dating well-mannered guys and liked to cook for them and practice the skills Makoto had once taught her, the late Sailor Jupiter had never thought of instructing her student on what to do when you discovered yourself to be the 'food' in a relationship.

"I'm sorry, but I'm the kind of girl that prefers to take things slow, so I highly doubt it would have worked between us" she told the monster as she kicked it in the groin, hastily removing her booted foot in disgust when she felt it sinking into the beasts' muddy flesh. "Ugh, you seriously have to learn that you can't win every time! There you go! Hera's Peacock Iridescent Feathers!"

She threw her attack at it, weakening it greatly, bust still leapt out of the way and repeated just in case "Guys! Does anyone of you have any idea?"

"My feeling exactly! This net has been fueled with too many magical creatures' powers; I doubt I'll be able to keep it condensed for much longer!" Fish-Eye shouted from the rearguard amongst the fairies and other beings alike.

"I think I have an idea" Hawk-Eye exclaimed while he decapitated demon after demon. "Ceres, Vesta, Pallas and Juno! The weapons of 'Tiger', 'Fish' and I can contain other people's magic, right? Then let's put all of our attacks together!" he suggested.

"Are you sure your weapons can handle it?" Sailor Vesta questioned.

"Hey! Are you suggesting our weapons are weak? They can kick as many asses as your attacks,in case you didn't notice!" Tiger-Eye interjected her insulted, but Vesta didn't give any signs of acknowledging his irate complain.

"Well, we won't know until we try" Hawk-Eye reasoned.

Ceres finished 'Flower-Arrow'ing two youmas in front of her and turned to him uncertain.

"Fish-Eye can barely resist the weight of her net with all those added powers, Hawk-Kun… Pallas, can we be trust that will work?" she consulted the Senshi of Wisdom.

"Wait a minute" Pallas' mind started to work quickly "That doesn't sound like a bad strategy" aqua pools glinted like light bulbs "All we need to do is mix our powers up with their nearest kin!"

"Um, okay… we're listening, PallaPalla" Juno sweat dropped again as she dived out of the way of another creature's fangs and Ceres nodded:

"What do you want us to do?"

"I've got it! Listen" PallaPalla required their attention in a professional voice that meant business "According to what Ami-san taught me about magical attacks and weapons, we have to combine the powers that are in some sense similar. The more kinship and affinity the powers they have with one another, the stronger the attack will be. Understood?"

"Right, so how do you suggest we combine them?" Vesta said going straight to the point.

Sailor Pallas took the old Mercury Super Computer and started typing frantically.

"My analysis says you Vesta must join powers with Hawk-Eye, since he's air and you're fire, and air is what keeps fire burning. Flora and of course flowers can serve as the likes of wood too, to nurture Vesta's fire, so it'd be best if Ceres assists you two… On the other hand, Tiger-Eye's whip strikes remarkably like a thunder, right? Then Tiger-Eye and Juno should join their attacks, whereas I will help Fish-Eye keep her net as solid as possible"

"Hey, how come Hawk-Eye gets two girls when I only get one? I am the one who likes 'em young!" Tiger-Eye mumbled depressed, but everyone just ignored him again.

"Okay guys, you know what to do" Ceres imparted "Everyone go take your positions!"

Before anyone could move, though, a huge mass of demons launched itself forward for the six combatants in the vanguard.

"What in the world!" Sailor Juno shouted "How did they group-up so without us noticing!"

"It's this damn darkness that barely lets us see anything!" Vesta shouted back.

"Vesta! Juno! Get back here they're heading your way!" Ceres screamed at them frantically.

"Oh no!" cried PallaPalla when she saw that the demons were almost upon their friends.

However, when the Hunters got only a couple of steps from reaching the two Asteroid senshi, they heard a man yelling "KAME-HAME-HA!" at the top of their lungs, and a gigantic wave of light swept the beings away from the paralyzed teenagers. Ceres, Pallas and the Amazon Trio all looked at it stupefied.

"What the hell was THAT!" Tiger-Eye yelled flabbergasted "Did you guys see that!"

"Neo Queen Serenity?" CereCere whispered in wonder.

"No way, that wasn't a magical attack, was it?" Hawk-Eye asked.

"I don't think so…" Pallas answered, trembling at the prospect of some new unknown enemy.

"But then, who?" Ceres asked them, searching everywhere with her eyes for the mysterious helper. Then she raised her head towards the sky and gasped.

"SON-SAN?"

END TO THE NINTH CHAPTER

A/N: "Amazon Flower Arrow" was the name of Ceres' attack in the Sailor Moon manga.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW-YEAR, DEAR READERS!

Sincerely,

Jay FicLover


	10. First sightings

_Disclaimer: Seeing the one that made Dragon Ball/Z/GT, Mister Akira Toriyama is a man, and the owner of Sailor Moon, Miss Naoko Takeuchi, is a woman, to be able to own DB/Z/GT and SM at the same time I would have to be a transsexual._

_P.S.: I'm not… just for the record. _

Chapter Nine:_ First sightings_

The young man with the spiky lavender hair lifted his head to the pink haired Sailor Senshi with confusion, and raised his vision upwards to see the reason of her outburst.

His eyes encountered nothing, though, except for the unnaturally dark sky.

"Can it!" Ceres exclaimed "He's gone! He was up there a second ago, and now he's gone! I am truly surprised; I didn't know anyone could be that fast without teleporting"

Tiger-Eye scratched his head, confused. "I didn't see anyone" Hawk-Eye asked the Soldier of Nature Renewal without understanding "Who are you talking about, CereCere?"

Ceres looked at them with realization.

"Right. You guys haven't met him yet"

She reassumed searching the sky with her eyes as she answered "He's the person that arrived with Neo Queen Serenity when she returned once leaving Elysion for the second time after she found out about the _eternal deaths_ of King and Reenie"

"Him?" Tiger-Eye questioned "You mean he's a man?"

Sailor Ceres nodded.

"Yes, he's male, but I don't think he's human"

Hawk-Eye smiled at her. "That is evident, CereCere. If he came from outside Elysion, that probably means he came from outer space, since there are no other life forms left beside us within this Solar System"

"It may be. He looks human, but he has a brown tail, long, like a monkey's"

"Is he some new species of magical being or creature, like the guys and I?" Hawk-Eye frowned when the senshi denied that possibility stating this 'Son-san' didn't possess any magical powers at all that they knew of.

The lavender haired one placed his thumb and index finger under his chin in thought.

"He's neither a human, nor a magical being or creature, and he comes from outer space… I think it's safe to assume he's some form of alien that looks remarkably like humans, except for, perhaps, that tail you mentioned?"

'_She's already stated that fact, Sherlock'_ Tiger-Eye muttered to himself very lowly.

"I remember what Minako-sensei told us about the Starlights, Princess Kakyuu and the other sailor senshi that came from outer space in the 20th Century." Ceres reflected nodding "Though not all, many of them were human. Luna-san said Earth people used to explore space a lot during the Silver Millenium, spreading their population onto other planets and befriending different species within this galaxy."

At that Tiger-Eye regarded the girl with curious interest. "He's a planetary guardian?"

"Why come here of all places" his partner questioned "when this planet's been awfully desolated? Doesn't he fear Chaos?"

"It's not certain he's a planetary guardian, Tiger-kun." Ceres clarified "Now that you just said so, it occurred to me he might be one… and unaware; Helios said he told them of how he used to fight a lot a long time ago, to protect his own planet. Only he didn't do it with magic, like we do. He's rather a physical fighter, a professional martial artist of some sorts. He kind of took Juno under his tutelage after totally kicking her but when they attempted to spar a couple of times; promising extra-officially he would help her improve; she was so thankful she practically worships him now. In any case, he never said anything of having any planetary powers, but according to Helios and Juno, he seems to have very unusual abilities"

The lavender haired boy walked a couple of steps forwards, greeting the oncoming Sailors Vesta and Juno.

"Are you guys okay?" he yelled at them and they nodded, still walking to join their friends.

Pointing towards the Hollow Hunters that were slowly regenerating in the distance, surrounded by the landscape of hundreds of acres of smoking, devastated land, greatly covered in the ashes of the charred trees and forest; Hawk-Eye looked at his blond hair friend and at the senshi from over his shoulder with an ironic smile.

"Unusual abilities? Like what he just did now?"

"That was an impressive performance" echoed the blonde, whistling. "Reminds me a bit of Sailor Saturn: their exclusive and personal showcase of pointless destruction"

"Is this the way mortal enemies are dealt with from where he comes from?" Hawk-Eye inquired, slightly raising an eye-brow.

Ceres gulped in embarrassment and shrug in a sincere showcase of clueless-ness mixed with defeat.

"I honestly don't know"

* * *

When Helios arrived at the house followed by the same Unicorn of before carrying an unconscious Usagi on its back, both Luna and her daughter Dianna went to them in an instant. 

"Usagi!"

"Usagi-sama! What happened to her?"

"Helios?"

"I'm not sure, Luna" the youth mumbled.

"What do you mean, you don't know? Was she like this when you found her?" Helios nodded "Where's Goku? Was he there too?"

"He went off to help the Sailor Quartet. He was trying to revive Serenity-sama when I found them. He said she fainted out of the blue"

Helios had already decided not to burden the rest with all the troubling details he had heard and suspicions that he had. Even though Goku-san hadn't said explicitly what happened, what little he had revealed and Helios made of it, if true, would throw the females into another anxious fit of worry, especially Luna, who was so protective of her now grown-up Moon Princess.

It was wiser, then, that he avoided mentioning the subject in front of the others until he was more certain of what had truly been what the Saiyan was referring to.

'_All that matters at this moment is that she's alright'_

The eighteen-year-old boy scooped the golden haired older woman in his arms, and was gladly surprised at her light weight. Even if with the passing years Helios had grown into young man with not many apparent muscles to speak of, being part Fae provided him with the capability of summoning a strength superior to that of the average human, when needed, besides the obvious magical skills. The Fae, like the ancient Lunarians of Old, were races blessed by their own protective deity, the God of Dreams Morpheus, with the capability to bend reality to their wishes, with the most complex of Magic as their tool.

Carrying the sleeping Queen in his arms the High Priest of Elysion followed the Maurian advisor into the Master bedroom of the house, and placed the Lady carefully on top of the sheets of the canopy bed. Going to her bedside, Luna placed a hand on Serenity's forehead and gasped at how cool her skin felt. Luna immediately grasped her hand between both of her own and called her name softly.

"Usagi?"

Helios shook his head.

"She won't be waking up for a while, Luna. She probably hit her head on a rock when she fainted"

"Helios, if you know the real reason she's like this, please, _do_ tell me…" said Luna grasping Usagi's right hand tightly.

The young man bit his lip.

"I—I really do not know"

'_At least not for certain yet, anyway' _

Luna relaxed a bit when she saw her charge was sleeping peacefully.

"Mama, is she gonna be alright?" Dianna asked.

Helios smiled at her fondly.

"I'm sure she will, Dee." He told her "She only needs to rest a bit. That's all"

"You're right, Helios" Luna agreed "She's been going through a lot of stress lately; it'd help her to take a moment to relax. That's why I am so glad Goku is here"

The Priest and Dianna gaped at the purple haired woman, but before they could ask anything Luna turned to question Helios.

"You said Goku left to help the girls?"

"Yes, they and the Amazon Trio are leading the Elysian Armies in protecting Hope City" the boy told her "Luna, would you please watch Serenity-sama while I go to the Palace? My Lady needs her strength, that's why I am going to try summoning the Golden Crystal's help in reinforcing the Shield of Protection. Once that is done, it shouldn't be that difficult for the Magical Armies to expel the remaining demons away from Elysion"

Luna stared at him.

"Helios, you know the Golden Crystal doesn't answer to anyone else but the true members of the Elysian and Earth Royal House. Only Endymion and Reenie could command it. It won't obey you"

Helios bit his lip once more, his arms tensing at his sides and his hands closing into fists.

"Goku-san said _'better test it out'_" he murmured.

Luna blinked.

"What did you say?"

The boy turned to look at her almost defiantly.

"It means we can't give up without _trying_. We have to try, Luna! May be this time, the Crystal will hear my praying"

Luna sighed in defeat, smiling as she did so.

"Do as much as you can"

Helios smiled back and took off without another word. Luna was left alone and still smiling to her self.

"I wonder how I haven't realized when you've completely ceased being a boy to fully become a young man, Helios" she whispered to the silence of the room.

Hearing a soft fry from behind her back, Luna turned back to the bed to see Serenity writhing in her sleep.

The deep chocolate-brown maternal eyes studied her with worry.

"Usagi…"

* * *

Goku scanned the area down carefully from the top of a cliff. He had jut sent a _Massive_ _Kame-Hame-Ha_ _Wave _against what he knew were the Hollow Hunters, managing to knock them away from the two Sailor Senshi they had been about to drown under a mass of solid darkness. 

The _Massive Wave_, though it used the same principles of the old _KameHameHa_ Wave in the initial manipulation of Ki, at the moment of launching it he would channel it differently, stretching his fingers instead of just the cupping of his hands, in order to make the steady beam expand into a fan of energy that would shoot from his palms like the beam of a torchlight. It was a combination of sorts between the classic Kame-Hame-Ha and Tenshinhan's old signature move, the _Kihoho_. Goku had perfected this technique when he was in the Eternal Realm. The result was that in exchange of a weaker surface tension and lower energy density, the _Massive Wave_ gained the capability to be able to expand into a wider target effect radius than the regular wave, and thus could be used to hit several separate individuals at the same time.

Unfortunately, it had proven to be just a way to buy the girls some time, though, since the attack that was meant to destroy as many demons as possible only succeeded in sweeping many of them far away, where they were slowly regenerating the severed and charred parts.

However, that had been merely a test to make sure they were indeed dealing with _Cursed Folk_.

Having never seen a Hollow Hunter before, Goku observed they weren't as much corporeal. Since they really weren't living beings, they could not fly, much less attack with Ki blasts, and to Goku they seemed ridiculously slow. Their true threat consisted of the fact that they always attacked in extremely large numbers. On the other hand, as they were a mix of pure omnipresent evil and sin commanding a body of mud and slime that, according to what he had heard in the Eternal Realm, allowed them to regenerate, fuse with other Hollow Hunters and remain unaffected by the average physical blows, yet the viscous substance they were made of could harden like iron at will to cause great harm when dealing a hit on the body of an opponent.

In simpler words, it was like mud itself had raised and become alive to drain them from their life force, and the darkness that now covered and surrounded almost everything in site didn't make it any easier for the Elysian Armies to see them in order to strike.

Seething with undercurrent anger, the Saiyan flew off from the cliff to confront the Hollow Hunters.

"You probably thought you'll have it easy, didn't you? Wiping out the Sailor Soldiers and killing everyone in the human city for your Master… Well I'm not going to allow it!"

"Goku-san!" the Saiyan heard the distressed voice of Sailor Ceres coming a few feet from behind while the Amazon Trio looked at Goku in surprised confusion as he turned to shout to them from over his shoulder without taking his eyes from the approaching monsters. "Are you and the others hurt, CereCere?"

"We are fine! Thank you so much Son-san!" a relief-filled Sailor Juno yelled at her newly-acquired teacher with sincere gratitude.

"You're welcome. I saw you kicking and punching those demons before, JunJun. You did well, but still need to train and polish yourself some more. We'll see to that later if that's okay with you."

Slightly stunned by her secret hero's first compliment, Sailor Juno blinked twice and flushed lightly at that. "S…Sure!"

When Goku noticed the creatures were coming at them again from everywhere and at a much faster pace, he warned "Step back! I'm going to fire at them one more time"

This time, however, Goku decided to use first another technique learned in the Dragon Realm: the_ Twisting Kiaiho Spiral Tornado_, an invisible, very powerful twister of Ki that acting like the manifestation of pure pressure blew the enemies backwards, which he could tell felt remarkably the pure physical force of a flying brick wall slamming into the subject. With great effort, the Saiyan managed to coerce the invisible tornado into forming a kilometers-long transparent barrier all around the majority of the Hunters and then start retracting it in itself to group the captured youmas into a single thrashing about and hissing pile of mud.

"That's… extraordinary!" Hawk-Eye admitted in an outburst "What kind of sorcery is that outsider using?"

The blond Tiger's eyes were wide as saucers. "I wanna learn how to do that"

Sailor Pallas, intrigued, pulled out once more the old Mercury Visor and Super Computer in order to analyze whatever they could pick up on the nature and patrons of the strange unfamiliar energy the fighter was using in those unknown attacks.

Once the pile was farther away enough, the warrior was allowed to charge enough energy to envelope it with his _Golden Meteor Shower Tsunami_, a thousand-times-larger-and-stronger version of Piccolo's _Renzoku Senkoudan_, which surrounded the target with infinite of projectiles formed of smaller but deadlier infinite Ki packets that shot in a flash towards the intended target, hitting them all at the same time.

Needless to say the joined blasts birthed an enormous explosion that hid the wrapped the whole view within a gigantic cloud of dense smoke that would surely prevent all the onlookers from seeing the outcome until the dust had settled.

Though the Saiyan fighter was not about to take his sight of that cloud till he saw only a burning crater left in the place where the demons had been.

_If he had paid attention to the ground right under his own feet, he would have noticed that the dirt all around the immediate area where he was standing was gradually becoming darker…_

An excited Peruru flew about yelling at the top of his lungs.

"_HOORAY, GOKU-SAMA!_"

"That wasstupendously rockin _FANTASTIC!_" the high pitched voice of Fish-Eye made itself heard from afar "Where did you girls find that guy?"

Sailor Vesta, on the contrary, felt wary of possible future repercussions "The way he annihilated so easily such a quantity of Hollow Hunters… it was… scary…"

She exchanged glances with Sailor Ceres.

"Stop speaking nonsense" Tiger-Eye said snootily "That was an amazing style of offensive, you're just jealous 'cause _you_ didn't do it"

Vesta glared at him murderously "No one's talking to you, lousy excuse for a man…"

"Oh I'm so sorry, dumb Carrot-Head"

"I'm not taking any insults from a tight leather-clad freak"

"What? Why you little—"

"Guys"

"—_disrespectful_ tart, have you forgotten what you were wearing the whole time with Neherenia?"

"It was an Amazon's proper garment, you weirdo—"

"…Guys…"

"—a lot more proper than anything you've ever wore—"

"…_Guys…_"

"— and a proper _respect_ for the differentiation of genders"

"Oh really?"

"Yes"

"Guys—!"

"Oh really?"

"Oh Yea!"

"Look who's talking, you—you Uncute Tomboy!"

"I _WHAT_? How dare you, you—"

"_GUYS!_"

"Tiger-Eye and Vesta, you both shut the hell up! My ears are hurting due to your insufferable racquet!" Juno's furious tone placated the quarrelers, none of them wanting to deal with a crossed Senshi of Commitment.

Meanwhile, Sailor Pallas' aqua eyes returned to the screen of the Super Computer, away from which they had strayed when the argument started.

"It's so stupid how the two of you fight at the most inopportune of moments!" Ceres continued, more than irritated "Why don't you better spend your boredom on checking if there're any youmas left?"

The Mercury Super Computer's screen was showing a quickly forming subterranean pool of darkness.

When Sailor Pallas saw it, she gasped.

It was growing right under the Saiyan fighter.

"SON-SAN WATCH OUT!" her warning was the last thing Goku hears as thick vines and tentacles of mud sprouted from the ground under his feet, shotting up and wrapping tigthly as they coiled around the body of the great warrior.

* * *

Far away from there, an unprepared Luna jumped when a sudden loud anguished cry tore itself unexpectedly from the sleeping Usagi's throat. 

"GOKU!"

* * *

END TO CHAPTER TEN

A/N: Please do speak your thoughts and concerns, dear folks

Jay.


	11. Vines, Poison and Hallucinations

_Disclaimer: I don't know Sailor Moon or Dragon Ball/Z/GT. Wait… a pair of panties with Goku's face doesn't exactly count, or does it? _

Chapter Eleven: _Vines, Poison and Hallucinations_

**Last time:**

The Mercury Super Computer's screen was showing a quickly forming subterranean pool of darkness.

When Sailor Pallas saw it, she gasped. It was growing right under the Saiyan fighter.

"SON-SAN WATCH OUT!" her warning was the last thing Goku heard as thick vines and tentacles of mud sprouted from the ground under his feet, shotting up and wrapping tigthly as they coiled around the body of the great warrior.

* * *

Far away from there, an unprepared Luna jumped when a sudden loud anguished cry tore itself unexpectedly from the sleeping Usagi's throat. 

"GOKU!"

* * *

Goku cursed profusely in his mind when he gradually realized nothing he did wassucceedingin freeing himself from the disgusting touch of the slimy tentacles that seemingly out of nowhere had attached to his skin like leeches, any attempt at swatting them away only making matter worse as the things' hold on his body only became more constricted and more vines immediately crawled on top of him from the ground and climbed up to end wrapping around his elbows, wrists, knees and ankles, keeping him tightly in place as a bigger, thicker tentacle wrapped itself around his throat, attempting to cut his air supply. 

This particular vine had many spikes and thorns, and Goku thought he'd distinctly felt too pricks at both sides of his neck, right where the pulse points should have been, like needles.

_Needles… _

…_I **hate** needles! _

Goku fought to free his elbows and wrists so he could rip that tentacle off his neck, and it was then that he noticed with surprise that the strange 'things' were sucking on his energy. The Saiyan bent down so that his hands still impeded by the vines enveloping his wrists could reach up to the one around his windpipe, all the time wondering whether this was another strategic attack from the Hollow Hunters or from another unknown enemy entirely. The cloud of dust had finally settled and none of their previous opponents was in sight any longer…

_Had he truly succeeded in destroying them?_

As for these new ones, some mutated form of leeches they must have been for sure, considering they had no Ki signature worthy of mentioning yet here they were currently sucking all of his energy faster than what he remembered of Android Number 19, Number 20 and Cell put together. The more he fought to rid himself from their grasp, the weaker he felt, and oddly enough, he also felt a greater feeling of nausea.

Apparently any attempt at gathering his energy for any form of counter-attack only served to make it easier for these leeches to feast on his life force, so Goku ceased all movement altogether to try to think of what other course of action should be taken instead.

"Son-san!" he heard the frightened gasps of Sailor Ceres and Juno as they called out to him.

"STAY BACK! I think these things feed on Ki, the energy of living beings… if you come any closer they might go after you!" he screamed weakly at them not to put them selves in danger.

"Oh no…" Sailor Pallas squeaked, and once again set to work on the Mercury Super Computer, in hopes that it might bring clues on the true nature of these… whatever they were and how to get them to get off of him.

Goku, on the other hand, was quite familiar with this kind of situation from his past experiences with other similar energy-sucking foes like the aforementioned androids, and the last thing he wanted was for one of the girls to also fall into their grasp. He had an inkling feeling they had targeted him first for being the one having the highest Ki signature among their group, since all the others fought with a different type of energy, magic-based attacks, but he suspected the tentacles wouldn't hesitate to get them too if they came any close and, if that were to happen, Goku worried these things wouldn't give them enough time and suck all their life force before they could even try and perform their magical attacks.

"If they're draining you of your energy, then they're like the Hollow Hunters, surely they're also creatures of Chaos. So please stay put, Son-san" he heard the voice of Ceres calling to him again "I'm gonna get those vines away in a moment" she informed as she brought her hands to her right and positioned her palms facing one another preparing herself to launch her own magical maneuver.

"Cere-Cere!" the others turned to her questioningly.

"You could hurt Goku-san!" Sailor Juno couldn't help but exclaim a bit angrily, failing to get a hold of her fear for her new trainer and Sensei.

Ceres turned to her about to say something but Pallas bet her to it, making both the Senshi of Commitment and Nature's Renewal turn at her sudden definite tone.

"Not if he has a pure-heart. Sailor senshi's attacks can't hurt pure and good hearted people… remember?"

Sailor Vesta quickly nodded in agreement.

"Not unless they harbor any ill will against us, and this is definitely _not_ the case" she put in deep emphasis.

At those words Sailor Juno and Ceres nodded to one another, the four girls' conversation having made the on-looking Goku smile in mild amusement, even despite his fast increasing weakened state.

Ceres joined her palms when another once again interrupted.

"Do you guys need any help?" they heard the shout of Peruru as he flew by.

"Don't get any closer, Peruru!" Vesta yelled up in warning "Goku-san's been caught by some strange parasite vines! We're sure they've got something to do with the Hollow Hunters, so tell the Fairies to continue keeping Fish-Eye's net raised to protect Hope City! Tell them not to lower their guard, there might still be youma left around here, okay?"

"Uh-Oh" the dream elf grimaced as he eyed the repulsive tentacles trapping the courageous fighter from his position in the air right above him, from where he had a better view than anyone else's of surprisingly very pale and plentifully sweating Saiyan as he struggled to prevent the vine around his windpipe from strangling him to death. Peruru could see then that there was a bit of blood spilling from under that particular vine at both sides of Goku's neck, probably due to the spikes on its surface pricking wounds open on the skin of Goku's throat.

At this sight, Peruru involuntarily shivered. What kind of vines were those that they'd been powerful enough to bring such strong warrior to his knees? But his thoughts were interrupted again by the repeated frantic cries of Sailor Vesta.

"Peruru! I told you those tentacles are dangerous! Don't approach Goku-san! Get your ass the heck away from there and go tell the Fairies to keep the net up!"

"Okay! Okay!" he shouted at Vesta "But _you_ better hang on, Goku-sama!" he turned to his new hero "Those insignificant worms are nothing against you, I just know it!"

He raised one fist high above his head at the end of the sentence … and if Goku hadn't been feeling so weak and sickly from the drastic loss of energy, with a growing headache and another ache in his chest that reminded him _painfully_ of the time long before when he had the heart virus, he would have grinned in return, thanked him outwardly for the votes of confidence and laughed inwardly at the teen elf's antics.

As it was, though, the only response he could gift him with was a short nod of his head and a slow strained smile.

On the dream-elf's part, as he flew back towards the other fairies Peruru narrowed his eyes in deep thought…

'_Parasite vines… parasite vines…' _

'…_Where is it that I've heard that before?' _

Meanwhile, back with Vesta and the others, Ceres joined her palms once more and shouted "Proserpine Flower Spring Symphony _Dust_!"

This variation of the usual wording was for whenever Ceres needed her attack to act more on its purifying properties than its destructive ones, which was the case presented, more so to help ease JunJun's worries.

They all watched as the huge hurricane of pollen swirled in the direction of the imprisoned Saiyan, only to collide with a purple barrier.

"WHAT in the name of Hera! A Sailor Senshi's shield!" Juno cried in complete disbelief.

PallaPalla, who had wanted to cry out in frustration cause the purple barrier was somehow interfering with the Mercury Super Computer, preventing it from finishing its analysis on the vines, felt her eyes widen when she gave a quick glance at the analysis thrown by the Computer about that very barrier instead.

PallaPalla soon found herself echoing JunJun's words and shocking everyone else into oblivion.

"_Impossible!_ ...It's Saturn-san's magical shield… the Silent Wall!"

An astonished silence was the only thing that followed her statement, until Vesta recovered enough to stutter.

"_What?_ But … but… _how?_ There's no one here! …_Who_ cast it!" she suppressed a shiver.

The Saturnian Silent Wall, like any other Sailor attack, needed the presence of the caster there to perform it… It couldn't just… appear there out of nowhere.

It was unheard of.

It was _unnatural_…

Yet there it was.

For the next longest agonizing seconds the Sailor Quartet and Amazon Trio could only stand there and witness in complete shock how the Silent Wall raised itself protectively while hundreds of more vines, tentacles and roots shot from the ground to wrap themselves constrictingly around the once more struggling Goku, who couldn't hold back a cry of pain as a few of his ribs cracked under the pressure.

"**Ahhhhhh!**"

'_How can this be happening?' _he thought in astonishment_ 'How can these mere **vines** be crushing me with the same force of Gohan's grip in Oozaru form! How can they possibly be making my chest ache as much as it did that time with the heart virus?' _

"**_AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHH!_**"

Like a distant echo he heard the girls' renewed cries of despair at the sight of his pain.

"… _how can those be doing **that** to him!"_

"_Goku-san!"_

"…_that yellow liquid! ……oozing from those tentacles around his throat…" _

"_It's got to be poison! They're pouring poison into his main arteries!"_

"_Oh no!"_

"_You have to resist… Son-san!"_

* * *

_Poison?_

_The vine was pouring poison inside his neck and into his bloodstream? He understood everything now… the headache, the heart-ache, the nausea, the dizziness…_

_He couldn't even attempt to transform into a Super Saiyan, for the vines continued to greedily feast on his energy from every part of his body now: his arms, his legs, his stomach, his head, his chest… It was like a living nightmare… _

_How could he have lowered his guard so much as to let things reach this point? _

_They were laughing… The vines were laughing at him… _

…_He could hear their mocking voices… in his head… as they chanted their song over and over and over and over…_

'**_Poor, poor Lord of the Aesirs…have come all this way to claim your Mani, only to for the second time face a rejection…'_**

_Goku could see the image of a white chariot taking off to the heavens and could not understand why the odd image filled his heart with such sadness and anguish. He stretched an arm out as he screamed…_

"**_Ikke, Mani! Komme tilbake!" _**

("No, Mani! Come back!")

* * *

Sailor Vesta and Juno looked at one another blankly in total confusion. 

Vesta turned to Ceres.

"Um… what is he saying?"

The pink haired senshi didn't take her eyes of Goku as she muttered "I don't know… It sounds… like a foreign language?"

She turned towards Pallas for confirmation, though the Senshi of Wisdom shrugged to show she was as clueless as she in that respect.

"It must be the poison already taking its effects" she reflected with a hand to her chin.

The vines were quickly and surely covering the Saiyan whole and hiding hisview entirely from the the onlookers, till all that was left before their horror-filled eyes was some morbid species of cocoon still writhing from the thrashing movements of its swallowed victim trapped inside.

Not a second afterwards, something like flower buds sprout from some of the vines, and they could all see a light purple gas start to pour out from them surrounding the cocoon and probably sedating the struggling form of the Saiyan inside, who stopped moving again completely.

"Oh my God" Palla-Palla exclaimed, covering her mouth with a hand "Guys… I think that gas was a tranquilizer"

"NOOO! Son Goku-san!" Sailor Juno's cry echoed through the air as she threw herself in the direction of her Sensei, desperately trying to run to his aid.

"DON'T!" she heard Hawk-Eye's warning in her ear as he rushed to pull her back, his arms quickly enveloping her in a tight embrace from behind, to prevent her from going any further. She still struggled savagely against his hold.

"NO! LET GO!" she yelled angrily at him as she thrashed about "He came to help _us_! It' _our_ fault they got him!"

"You heard what he said, those things are like the Hollow Hunters, even worse ´cause they don't seem to let go once they catch on a prey"

"I don't care, Hawk-Eye! Let me go help him or I'll jab my elbow in your stomach!" she fought against him fiercely like a wildcat, to no avail.

"Don't be daft, and listen to someone for once, Sailor Juno!" Tiger-Eye told her irate "You won't be able to get those tentacles off him using your physical strength; besides, the Silent Wall surely won't let you through!"

JunJun cast her eyes to the ground as she felt them grow with hidden unshed tears. …_Why… why is it I can't protect anyone…? I thought I was stronger than this! _

"They're right, Jun… Please… I don't wanna see you get hurt too" Palla-Palla pleaded with her stubborn friend.

"This doesn't look good" Vesta whispered, shaking her head "If Ceres' attack was blocked with the Saturn Shield, Chaos must be taking advantage of its hold on the Sailor Crystals of Tomoe-san and the others to manipulate their Senshi powers!"

"Guys, this is not the time to think about it, we have to break that shield!" Ceres reasoned "Palla-Palla, is the Saturn Shield at its full strength? Or can we overpower it with our combined attacks?"

The blue haired Senshi of Wisdom was once again typing furiously on the poor mistreated Super Computer. "Mhm, good point there, CereCere! The shield is currently two times weaker than normal when Hotaru-san casts it, must be because she isn't here herself. However, I suggest only the three of you try it, and not me and the guys, otherwise I'm not sure that we mightn't be risking hurting Goku-san if we pour too much power into that single attack"

CereCere nodded, turning towards green and the red haired girls.

"Okay, you heard her! Vesta! Juno! On the count of three!"

* * *

**At the same time in the Elysian Royal Palace**, a very solemn Helios was kneeling before the Golden Crystal with both of his hands clasped tightly in a silent supplication. 

'_Please Golden Crystal…hear my prayer! Elysion and Earth are in danger! I humble myself before you not to plead for my own safety, but for the lives and souls of the people of Earth, whom Endymion-sama gave his life to protect. I beg of you! Golden Crystal! Hear the clamor of the besieged City of Hope, don't let Endymion-sama's Golden Kingdom fall into the bottomless pits of chaos and be forever lost!'_

With those thoughts, the High Priest of Elysion lifted his eyes to set them on the Sacred Stone, only to find that no response was coming from it whatsoever.

Helios felt the despair that was eating at him finally reach its wrecking point as his head bowed down, his palms flat on the black marble floor before out of fury he started hitting it repeatedly with his fists, till his knuckles became coated with his blood.

"_Why!_ …Why won't you help? Why won't you save them! …Answer me! …Golden Crystal!"

So immersed he was in his sour solitary demands that he hadn't heard the steps of the person approaching him till a tall shadow was cast over Helios' own crouched body.

* * *

_The martial artist once known as Son Goku woke up in a very familiar field he recognized as the one near his house on Mount Paotzu. This field was covered with flowers since the current season was still that of spring… Goku could tell by the birds' cheerful singing and the warm breeze that was placidly sweeping at the thick black spikes of his hair._

_His stomach rumbled, which in turn brought a smile to his lips, and he was suddenly overwhelmed by the compulsion to go and see what his spouse was cooking… So it was that he bolted up, yawning, and stretched his sleepy muscles a few times before taking towards his home and his beloved family. _

_He gave up flying and opted for walking instead, since it was such a nice day and he was thoroughly tempted to enjoy the peace and serenity of the nature around him. Being the cosnummate warrior that he was, guardian and defender of the Earth, life had taught Son Goku that peaceful moments like this were to be cherished asone of the mostgereous of Kami's blessings._

_When he finally arrived at his doorstep he didn't feel the need to knock to let his hard-working wife know he was back, but he pushed the door open as silently as he could, with the intention of giving her surprise…_

…_Chichi was standing with her back towards him, tending to some dirty dishes lying in the kitchen sink. The Saiyan tip-toed towards her slowly, planning on wrapping his arms around her in a hug once he was directly behind her… he never expected his wife to have noticed his presence already, or for her to turn towards him in a sudden and show him a face that **should** have been shining with a bright smile asher way of agreeting…_

…_if it hadn't been shadowed by the very vivid emotion of betrayal._

"_Goku… how could you…"_

_Her now dumbfounded husband froze as he watched the tears trailing down her cheeks in bafflement. _

_A strong wind rose unexpectedly inside their little house, twiddling with Chichi's straight long locks of ebony hair. Suddenly the house disappeared and all that was left surrounding the two of them was a deep darkness. _

"_Chichi…? What's wrong?" _

_Her oddly fathomless eyes were trained on him unrelentingly for the longest minutes before she spoke again._

"_You forgot me, Goku… You let go of my memory… because of **her**… _..._How could you?"_

_He merelylooked at her in puzzlement, not understanding what, or rather who he was talking about._

"_I didn't —"_

"_And it wasn't only me that you forgot" she interrupted, continuing her tirade of bitter reproaches "but also our sons, or granddaughter, our family and our entire life together… …So tell me, Goku…… is she really so worth it as you seem to put it?"_

_Goku's mouth opened and then closed, yet he didn't care how much he resembled a gaping fish at the moment. He **really** wanted to know what was seriously so wrong with his wife…For the life of him he couldn't decipher what she was referring to. _

"_If I did something wrong, Chi, I'm sorry…but… I—I don't know who you're talking about…" he said to her hesitantly in a whisper._

_She all but snarled at him in incredulity._

"_Don't play dumb on me, and pretend not understanding, because I know you better than anyone! **Don't!** Not when all I see, as I look in your eyes right now, is **how glad** you are that you found her!" she drawled sarcastically "I can see it, even now, how much you already yearn for her, and **love** her… and I will **NEVER EVER** forgive you, you hear me!" _

"_Chi…! I told you I don't…— Please!" _

"_Quit trying to make up excuses!" the ghostly form of Chichi shouted as she started fading farer and farer away from him, despite his attempts to run after her rapidly retreating form "I **may** be already dead, but if you get **any closer** to that woman a great curse will befall onto the two of you both!"_

"_No! Wait! Please!" still running, he struggled as he realized she wouldn't even let him speak._

"_**MARK MY WORDS**, Goku, when I say that fate won't let hers and your unfaithfulness go unpunished! Both of you **will** know true hell…Do you understand me! Her King and I will have our revenge when fate makes sure the both of you are miserable **FOREVER!**_ _**Like the dirty little sinners that you are!**" _

_At those terrifying last predictions Goku closed his eyes and stopped running to grab his head tightly as if in pain._

"_NO! You're **NOT** Chichi! You **CAN'T** be her! She would never say such hatred filled words… she wouldn't! I know it! She **WOULDN'T**!"_

_Laughter was the only response that met his anguished statements…as Chichi's ghost had finally disappeared altogether. _

"_You are **not** her… you **aren't**…" he repeated to himself as he was left all alone in the darkness, drowning in a despair he couldn't completely comprehend…_

…_Till a ray of white light, so bright and full of hope, descended over his form, completely bathing him and letting him bask in its infinite warm._

"…_It was just a nightmare, Ku-Koi…It wasn't real. You have to wake up now" _

_As he stood up and shielded his eyes with a hand, trying to make out the source of the light, he heard again the echoes of that pacifying, wonderfully sweet and ethereal voice._

"_Wake up now, Ku-Koi… Wake up…"_

* * *

"Wake up, Goku… Wake up" 

Following the advice of the more substantial voice, though almost identical to that of his dream, Goku opened his eyes to meet the deep ocean blue of Serenity's...

* * *

END TO THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER 

A/N: The true nature of the infamous 'vines' and the outcome of the battle will most likely be explained in the next chapter. If you want to know what "Ku-Koi" means and stands for, you're welcome to visit chapter 4 of my other fic, "What Lies Ahead", where the term is explained in the author's notes at the bottom of the page.

This has been my weirdest chapter up to date, and I'm feeling oddly proud. Remember when Goku couldn't fight Android 19 cause he'd fallen ill due to the heart virus, and was taken home by Yamcha, where Goku had a nightmare about the androids showing at his house and killing Gohan and Chichi? Think of this as a very similar kind of situation…

Anyway, please tell me again what you think.

Yours,

Jay.


	12. Waking up to a harsh reality

_Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or Dragon Ball/Z/GT… but my wet dreams of Goku are my own, got it! I'm not sharing! XD_

Chapter Twelve: _Waking up to a harsh reality_

"Wake up, Goku... Wake up... It was just a nightmare"

Following the advice of the more substantial voice, though almost identical to that of his dream, Goku opened his eyes to meet the deep ocean blue of Serenity's...

"Usagi…"

_Good, she's okay._

Usagi blushed slightly at the examining look the Saiyan gave her before he lost consciousness once more.

* * *

When he awoke again, it wasn't Serenity who was at his side, but Luna. 

Goku realized he was lying on a bed, still dressed with the same clothes he'd been wearing when he went to stop the Hollow Hunters. It was the same bed where Helios had placed Serenity when she was unconscious herself.

"Luna… Where is Usagi? Is she okay?" he asked.

The dark purple haired advisor smiled down at him softly.

"Yes she is. She came to several hours ago, right before Tiger's Eye and Hawk's Eye brought you in."

_All the time complaining about how heavy you were… Tiger's Eye specially_, she thought to herself in amusement as she added with another smile. "Helios showed up later on and purified the poison in your body with his healing abilities… He says you'll be able to recover very soon"

The Saiyan gave an imperceptible sigh of relief at the thought that even in this faraway place he could count on someone with something akin to Dende's healing powers. _It wasn't the same as a senzu bean but still._

"How long have I've been out?"

"Since last night"

Soon afterwards he was looking at her alarmingly as he bolted up on the bed.

"And CereCere? JunJun, PallaPalla? What about VesVes and the others?"

The maurian raised a hand in a soothing fashion.

"They are all alright too. So don't worry yourself over them. You have to concentrate on healing instead"

The Saiyan gazed at her blankly.

"But what about the Hollow Hunters? And those vines? Is Hope City safe from them? Is the enemy truly gone, Luna?"

"Everyone's safe thanks to you, Goku… and thanks to Kunzite"

"Kunzite?" Goku tilted his head to the side.

Now Luna shifted in her seat a bit restlessly, as if talking of the matter made her uncomfortable.

"When the Sailor Quartet managed to break the Silent Wall around you, a new horde of Hollow Hunters approached fast to attack Hope City. The Asteroid Senshi, the Amazon Trio and the others wouldn't have been able to hold them off and help you at the same time. It was then that Kunzite fortunately went to assist Helios in his prayers to the Golden Crystal, and since he's a member of the Earthian Royal House, apparently the Crystal listened to him and expelled all dark creatures from Elysion, reestablishing Serenity's broken Shield of Protection"

"Kunzite is a member of the Royal House of Earth?" Goku blinked "I didn't know that…"

"Neither did we, but it seems all the four Generals were distant relatives of Endymion, including Kunzite whose mother was a cousin to Prince Endymion's father himself" Luna finished with a frown.

Goku noticed but opted for the moment not to bother trying to guess why that was. He looked at her for a moment longer before grinning.

"In that case I'll make sure to thank him when I see him." Goku sweat dropped "I was supposed to help you guys, yet it ended being the other way around"

Luna shook her head "No, Kunzite's the one who deserves your gratitude. What matters is… he alone saved us all" _As much as I'd love to deny it._

"Luna" the fighter interrupted her thoughts "where is everyone now?"

"The Sailor Quartet and everyone else that got wounded in the fight are too having their wounds treated by Helios and the other Fae with healing powers. They all got minor wounds at the most, thank Selene for that. It was _you_ we were all quite concerned about"

Then Goku remembered what was bothering him. He turned all serious again.

"What about those vines…? They were truly a thing of Chaos after all?"

"Yes… and no. That is some of a bit complicated"

"Huh?"

"The vines that caught you were some odd mutated form of a creature that already exists here in Elysion, or was thought to have existed. That species was believed to be extinct right up to the moment one of them attacked you"

"Really? What are they?" Goku was mildly surprised. However, in a way it _was_ just his luck to come across a thought-to-be-extinct pre-historic menace or something right in the middle of a battle with the Hollow Hunters…

It was Luna's turn to sigh. "It's somewhat difficult to explain. As the heart of the Earth, Elysion is the Realm which is sustained by the dreams of the people of Earth, yet those dreams can also be dark, and they can also turn into nightmares… they're not always nice and beautiful dreams, thus the creatures of Elysion are not always beautiful and nice"

"You mean, those vines…"

"Yes."

Goku was the one to frown this time.

"That particular kind" the maurian advisor continued "is called a plant youkai, a type of Plant Demon they commonly called 'the Poison Ivy Python'… Peruru told us Sailor Vesta was right in labeling it as a 'parasite vine', since he remembered that those beings, in normal form, used to act like parasites; smaller vines that attached themselves to the person while they slept and stayed there from then on, like leeches, sucking their blood in small amounts at first, but as time went by getting bigger and bigger and stronger till, if they weren't somehow ripped away they killed the host either by draining all their blood or gradually crushing his ribcage or his throat through their increasing stronghold… Usually, only very powerful Fae magic could force them to let go before those outcomes took place"

In spite of himself, Goku's eyes were slightly wide. "And… you say they were thought to be extinct?"

Luna nodded "Peruru says that the Poison Ivy Python and other monsters alike from Elysion were thought to be extinct or put to deep sleep once the human survivors of Earth were brought to this realm for protection and the fairies and other 'good' dream creatures helped Neo Queen Serenity in raising several wards to ensure the humans safety while they resided down here… That is what _should _have happened, in theory, due to the immense purifying powers of the Silver Crystal"

The Saiyan didn't like where this was going.

"If it's safe to assume that the Silver Crystal failed…"Luna trailed off.

"Then it'd be safe to say we'll be encountering more monsters like that, and we'd better watch out for them, shouldn't we" Goku finished, not appreciating the fact that this situation was starting to sound very much like his own captivity in the Eternal Realm: being trapped in another dimension with the constant lurking threat of creatures he couldn't even begin to fathom.

"That we should, since in all probability it was Usagi's own state of confusion, hurt and shock after the destruction of Crystal Tokyo the reason why she couldn't totally seal them away back then, and I'm afraid I don't believe she's still in any better condition to try to use the Crystal again to seal them now.." From the tone of Luna's voice it was obvious to anyone how hard it was for her to admit this.

So it was that the warrior soon raised his eyes to question "Luna, wouldn't the Golden Crystal manage to put them to sleep or destroy them too?"

"In the case of creatures like the one that attacked you, yes; because that particular plant youkai was infused with Chaos' dark aura besides of its very own. Providing Kunzite continues to collaborate, I'm sure the Golden Crystal can and _will_ protect Elysion and its people from any outside threats… but it's hard to say if it will from threats of the _inside_"

Luna sighed again as she continued.

"With the constant war and threats to people's lives, we can't guarantee their emotional state will be in any position to prevent anymore darkness from forming, awakening more monsters from their sleep and providing Chaos with the perfect tools to create even more fear and more darkness, and finally manage to conquer Elysion"

"So you say it is the people's fear that's been giving Chaos its strength?"

"In part, yes it is. More darkness always feeds the one already existing. Using the people's very own fear and darker emotions against them, to get to them, it gives Chaos power over us, the power to infiltrate inside Elysion. If we want to keep Chaos out, we have no choice but to find a way to ease the people's fears, at least for a while"

Goku turned and looked at the purple haired woman meaningfully.

"Especially Serenity's fear… right?"

"Especially hers… If not, then we won't be able to count with the help of the Silver Crystal" she confirmed "and we _will_ need it... It won't be long, cause since Kunzite is not the true wielder of the Golden Crystal, he can't use its powers as much. The Golden Crystal's very existence is to protect this planet and the Dream Realm, so it will always answer the plea of a son of the Earthian Royal House; but every time Kunzite makes use of its power, it won't be the same as if Endymion himself had done it. Thus, every time that happens, the protection of the Golden Crystal will be only temporary, very short life spanned till it weakens again."

"How much time do we have then, Luna, till the new Shield of Protection weakens again? How much till we need Kunzite's intervention once more?" the Saiyan asked in a tone that meant business.

The maurian cast her eyes down, deep in thought.

"I'm not sure… But I'd say a couple of days, a week may be, Goku. I would love being able to state it'd be more than that … but I can't" she sounded almost ashamed of herself.

"It's not your fault that things are the way they are, Luna-chan" Goku tried to comfort her when he realized "Don't worry, I'll find a way to get through this…" he trailed of as he tried to get out of the bed, causing Luna to hyperventilate.

"**WHAT?**" she cried in angry indignation as she pushed him back down with surprising force "I did _NOT_ tell you all that so that you rushed right back to the front of the battlefield, mister!" she demanded, waving her index finger at him in reprimand "You _WILL_ stay here and recover from your wounds, is that clear? Chaos and the Hollow Hunters can wait"

"But Luna—?" he tried to insist, what was it with every women he met sooner or later trying to act all nurse on him?

The maurian shook her head, looking tenderly at him like a mother would a restless child "Tiger's Eye and Hawk's Eye told me of how you disposed of half the Hollow Hunters back there all by yourself, Goku; you should take things at a slower rhythm now… You've done enough for now already as it is"

The Saiyan gulped inwardly and sighed, feeling he couldn't quite ignore the hidden plea in those worried and almost maternal brown eyes.

"Uh… Oh, alright…" he granted in defeat.

At those words Luna's features somewhat relaxed and she smiled in gratitude and approval, just as young Dianna made her way into the room, holding something in her hand.

"Hi, Goku-san! How are you doing?" she asked brightly as she came to stand next to her mother at the side of his bed.

Goku grinned back as he sat up.

"I'm fine. Thanks, D-chan" he looked down at the shinning thing in her hand in mild curiosity "What'cha got there?"

"Oh" said Luna as she took the object from her daughter's hand to hold it out for him to see "This is just an antidote for what may still remain of the venom inside your body. Now if you would give me your arm, Goku… _Goku?_"

When Dianna also noticed how pale the silent Saiyan had suddenly become, and how incredibly still, she also leaned slightly to watch him in confusion.

"Goku-san? What's wrong? Are you alright?"

Silence.

"Goku?" after a while, a puzzled Luna asked too.

However, no matter how they tried they couldn't get his attention, which was single mindedly concentrated on the large syringe in Luna's hand…

_It was a needle… A big… HUGE… needle…_

* * *

"_WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!_" 

Outside the villa, the peacefulness of the early afternoon and the birds' cheerful singing was rudely interrupted by a loud high pitched scream, and Serenity turned towards the house in bafflement, wondering who it was that was being put through so much torment all of a sudden, the scream loud enough to sound like the refrigerator had fallen on top of someone…

She never expected a frantic Son Goku to come running out of the house in a hurry to hide behind her.

"Don't tell her where I am!" she heard his squeak from behind her back.

Usagi looked at him puzzled.

"Tell who?" she asked a bit dumbly.

"_GOKU! GET BACK HERE!_" they both heard Luna's strident yell from afar.

"Aahh! _She's coming!_" Goku panicked.

Usagi sweatdropped.

"Goku… you... youdid something to Luna?" she tried to make sense of the situation.

Goku shook his head frantically, his eyes glued to the door of the house from which he expected Luna to come outat any moment.

"It's rather what _she_ is gonna do _to me_! Don't let her find me!" he kneeled and pleaded with the blonde "_Hide me!_"

At the squealing frightened tone of his voice and the sight of his trembling kneeling form Usagi sweatdropped again.

'_I guess Luna can be pretty scary when she wants to…' _she thought silently to herself.

"Ahem. So… what is it that she wants to do to you?" she started, but couldn't finish, cause to her surprise Luna had walked silently behind Goku, syringe still in hand, shocking the daylights out of him once he noticed her and making him squeal again, which in turn made the two women _and_ the approaching Dianna sweatdrop again.

"Ah!" the Saiyan wailed as he jumped high in the air "Where did she come from? I didn't see her!" he immediately rushed to hide behind the blonde again, using her as a shield from the angry syringe-wielding Luna.

The maurian narrowed her eyes in irritated frustration.

"There's a door at the back of the house…" she explained and took a step forward, syringe still in hand "Goku… hiding behind Usagi? That's unbefitting of a warrior with the likes of you! Don't be a coward and step aside!"

"No! First drop the needle and then I'll let go of the girl!" the tall fighter bargained like he was a delinquent keeping her hostage.

And that he somewhat did, considering he had both of his hands grasping Usagi's arms tightly to keep her close and turn her to face towards every direction from which Luna tried to approach them, still using her as a human, or should we say, blonde Lunarian shield.

Luna literally rolled her eyes in exasperation at the absurdity of the Saiyan's behavior, while Dianna behind her tried to hide a smile of amusement by covering it with her hand.

"You're being childish, Goku. It's just a small needle, don't be so stubborn! It's for your own good!" the older maurian argued, refusing to step back from the matter.

"No, Luna, it's no _small_ needle and I've told you I _am fine!_" Goku wailed again as he held on tight to Usagi's arms.

"May Selene help me, Goku, you're almost making me wish I had the Poison Ivy Python right here to keep you steady while I give you the shot!" the enfuriated Luna growled.

Usagi giggledin spite of herself. But no matter how secretly amused she was both at the advisor's predicament and at the supposed strong warrior's fearful state, the golden haired royal finally decided that enough was enough, and raised a hand in a regal gesture.

"It's okay, Luna… I'm sure Helios got rid of all the poison already"

For the next seconds the purple haired woman looked at her as if she was doing it for the first time, her eyes wide as she pursed her lips in what Usagi swore was a resentful emotion.

"Argh, I can't believe it! Men are such babies!" she finally thrust her arms up in a last outburst, before turning tail and storming back towards the house, beckoning Dianna to follow her, and glaring her from time to time whenever the teen failed to hold back her giggles.

'_Oh boy am I in for it the next time she catches me alone' _Usagi thought in dismay as she followed with her eyes the retreating form of her irate guardian.

Turning towards a much calmer Goku, she grinned at hearing his repetitive rantings of _'Thank you thank you thank you'_ before she frowned deeply at him in mild reproach.

"You and I" she told him seriously "have a lot to talk about"

END TO THE TWELTH CHAPTER

* * *

A/N: Those of you who might be familiar with Rumiko Takahashi's manga and anime series _'Inuyasha' _may already know the Japanese term 'youkai' means 'demon' in English. 

There you go, chapter twelve people. So it wasn't the scouts, Usagi _or_ Goku that saved the day… but _Kunzite_! Make sure to let me know your thoughts.

Love,

JAY.


	13. A ray of hope

_Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or Dragon Ball/Z/GT… Just the tissue I used while writing this chapter (dries teary eyes)._

Chapter Thirteen: _A ray of hope_

At the seriousness in her tone and look Goku inadvertently swallowed.

"Um… yes? What is it that you want to discuss, Serenity?" he asked hesitantly with a hand behind his neck as he straightened up, fearing she'd insist on him letting Luna give him that shot, or something alike.

Usagi sighed deeply and seemed to assess him for a while, her features softening, before she tilted her head lightly to one side with a sweet, slight irony smile.

"So it's back to Serenity now?" she said to him in an amused voice, her tone half wondering and half teasing, it made Goku relax that'd she let go of the syringe subject while at the same time that it made him blush at the sudden warmth in his gut…

…which in turn made Usagi giggle silently inside. _'He looks cute when he blushes'_

"Eh… I'm sorry. It's just that since Luna calls you Usagi all the time I must've… picked it up from her…" Goku started quickly and finished breathlessly, still awed at her smile.

Usagi shook her head slowly with her eyes closed to signify he needn't worry and that she hadn't taken any offense by it. Then she trailed her gaze all over his form before regarding him with an expression full of concern.

"Are you really fine now? Do you feel alright?"

The question earned a questioning look from Goku, till a pale slender hand raised itself hesitantly towards him, only to stop mid-way, as if thinking better of it, and close before returning to its previous place at the queen's side.

Usagi sighed.

"That plant demon could have hurt you seriously if it hadn't been for Helios. His healing powers have always been greater than my own, same as with most Fae in Elysion. We were all very worried about you… _I_ was worried about you. After all, I am the reason you are here, aren't I?"

The warrior didn't know what to say so he stayed silent.

"Youkai like that are very dangerous creatures" she explained a bit dejectedly "they feed of their victim's own fear. The more you're afraid, the more you're frightened and confused and your despair increases, the stronger they become and the more you are at its mercy… Besides, not only do they feed on your fear, but their nurture it, like that plant youkai with its poison that caused hallucinations"

Goku nodded when he thought of something.

"I remember…— I remember I had some very disturbing dreams while I was unconscious" he said, remembering some parts of the disquieting dream with Chichi "I don't remember them very well…" he lied "…but could those dreams too have been just caused by the _Poison Ivy Phyton_?"

_He had to make sure…_

Usagi nodded in understanding.

"They probably were, Goku… The Poison of the _Phyton_ does just that. Sometimes it even makes you relive some old memories, distorted from what they used to be, twisting reality to turn even the fondest of memories into a nightmare to increase the victim's anguish"

Goku let out a breath he didn't know he was holding; feeling relieved.

"I didn't know the youkai would awaken" the blonde woman murmured "they weren't supposed to. But then again, the seal I put on them to make them sleep mustn't have been strong enough…" she reckoned, as if speaking only to herself.

"Serenity…"

A sudden strong breeze ruffled both their hair, the woman's golden tresses contrasting greatly with the man's deep ebony locks. Goku continued to watch her with an intense look while Usagi had her eyes closed.

"I'm sorry" her eyebrows creased in a penitent expression before she opened her eyes to look up at him dutifully "I want to apologize for my earlier behavior, as well as thank you for going to the Sailor Quartet and the others and… for protecting Hope City… God knows, in the state I was in, I couldn't have done it. If it hadn't been for you and Kunzite…"

"You don't have to—"

"Yes I have to" she interrupted him "Ever since you got here I've been treating you alternately between hesitant politeness and down right rudeness… It must have been driving you crazy just trying to figure out my mood"

Goku's jaw fell.

"I realize that, and I want to make amends for the unjust way I've been acting. You were only trying to help, you could've gone back to Chikyuu to your granddaughter and what's there of your family but you came here in good faith to help us instead, putting your very life in danger just by _being_ here, in Elysion, and I didn't make it any easier for you with my attitude and my foolishness" she said angry with herself "and all this for what? All just because Selene…—" there she suddenly stopped herself.

"…_What?_ Just because Selene what, Serenity?" he blinked, surprised at her outburst but more so at her sudden pause.

Mortified silently for her slip up, she turned her head to the side, eyes downcast.

"It doesn't matter…"

He stared at her for a moment, gathering his thoughts.

"Serenity…"

When she turned back around he continued.

"First of all" he told her "I want you to know I knew _exactly_ what I was getting myself into when I decided to come here" he said very seriously. He knew this was their time of reckoning. "Shenlong told me all about Chaos and what it was capable of before arriving, so I don't and I _won't_ hold any of you responsible for any injuries bestowed upon me as the price for fighting against it"

Usagi opened her mouth to retort but this time he was the one who shook his head and interrupted her.

"Didn't you say something yourself, Serenity, about being a true warrior?" he questioned "Being a true warrior is, I believe, knowing that there are some things in this life that are worth fighting and dying for, and from what Luna's told me I know you understand better than many what I mean"

Taking into account Usagi's past as Sailor Moon; indeed that she did.

"I can't give up now and prove false everything that I believe in… I just can't. Turn back and return to Chikyuu, forgetting all about you guys and what you're going through, after I've seen it with my own eyes, is something I no longer would be able to do; I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did… it'd be like running away. I _will_ see my granddaughter again, eventually… I have to believe that _I will…_ but it'll be once I've made sure I did everything I could here in Elysion… _…_ But I want to make it clear to you it's by my own choice that I'm staying, Serenity, and it's nobody else's responsibility but mine"

Usagi felt an unpleasant knot in her stomach and lifted her gaze to look him dead in the eyes.

"…You'd do that for us, when … it's possible that you don't turn out of this alive?"

He nodded.

"…And you are not afraid…" it was more of a statement uttered in wonder than an actual question.

"…I've already been dead twice, I was also absorbed once, and already faced the risk of my soul disappearing when I fought Janemba in Other World." he answered "Had he killed me then, there'd have been nothing left of me, Vegeta, or the entire universe for that matter…" the Saiyan trailed of as he turned away from her, as if he was talking more to himself than to her "I was also imprisoned in a strange world for one hundred years… I've faced the prospect of complete annihilation more times than I can count or care to remember. So I know well what is at stake here and what we're up against"

"Goku, I — I" she shook her head vigorously to clear her thoughts "No…no, you have to listen to me, Goku, please! I must tell you this is probably the last time you'll ever be able to leave Elysion without Chaos chasing right after your feet. The barrier of the Golden Crystal won't last for long, but you still have time… Goku, there was something I wanted to talk to you about. I know now that youkai was devised by Chaos _specifically_ to attack you, it was a trap to get just you ´cause it was _you_ who they were trying to lure out… Goku, I'm sure Chaos knows you're here, knows that someone of your Ki prowess is here and you have to understand that you will never be safe from them again if you stay..." she pleaded with the Saiyan whose back was to her.

The Saiyan didn't respond, but she saw his shoulders tense and at his sides his calloused hands closed into fists.

"I understand… Know that, but no matter what happens from now on… _it was my decision_" he said with his back still towards her. "I'm not afraid to die again, Serenity, as long as I die _fighting_, knowing I didn't run away or break under this menace…" he answered as he turned back towards her. "It's just the way I am"

They looked at each other, her at him almost warily, the Saiyan's eyes searching hers this time. But she was at a loss for words.

That was when Usagi inwardly let out a gasp. He was looking at her in such an intense way and so meaningfully for a few moments, she marveled at the way he could appear so gullible and playful one moment to make a turn of 180 degrees and become serious and iron willed in the next.

_Was this what his eyes looked like when he faced an enemy in the heat of battle? _

…_So composed, so in control… _Usagi found herself begin to wonder and wish to explore the many different facets of his often mistook for plain and predictable, yet quite more complex personality, wanting to know how many sides there was to this one man.

Pushing away those intrusive thoughts, her own shoulders slumped and she let out a breath of resignation.

"I talked to Luna and the others" she informed him, making the warrior shift from one feet to the other in wonder at the sudden change of topic "they all seem to think that I freed you from the Eternal Realm… Goku, if that's the reason you're doing this… If you feel that you should save us because I let you out of the Eternal Realm, then you should know you're not in debt with us… It wasn't truly me; I mean, I was hoping, aiming for it with what I did, but then the Silver Crystal took matters into its own hands. Sometimes it just does that… It follows my heart most of the time but it also has a will of its own"

He regarded her with a small smile that she couldn't quite read and shook his head again.

"I appreciate the honesty, Serenity, but that's not why I'm doing it. Not just for that, at least." the Saiyan's eyes turned to gaze at the horizon as a new breeze ruffled his bangs "I'll do it for every time I fought in the past, before I was imprisoned in the Dragon Realm, when I was never alone, and always had my friends beside me. Not only had that, but people who didn't have anything to do with our troubles often offered their help: King Kai, the namekians, the _Kai-oh-samas_…" he sighed "none of those times were we truly alone, not once… It was also thanks to them that Chikyuu is still today standing. That's why I want to do this now" he whispered "to return to the universe some of the kindness it offered so readily. I find I'm merely returning the favor"

Right then, at that moment, with the peace of nature surrounding them and the house and the breeze whispering it's lullaby in their ears, as he continued to gaze at the horizon whereas she continued looking at him, Usagi realized just how spirited, how compassionate and pure of heart the Saiyan known as Son Goku really was…

…_and at that very moment, it took her breath away._

"…All I ask is for you to trust me" he turned to look back at her "…and that you let me be your friend, Serenity. I know you're in need of one, and I wanna be there for you"

She felt that she couldn't refuse those gentle charcoal black eyes and sighed.

_She'd find it incredibly hard to refuse him before…… How could she now, when he once more was looking at her like that?_

…_How could she, after what he'd done?_

_She felt that she just… couldn't._

She inwardly cursed his gentle nature.

"If that is all that you want… I feel compelled to grant it" she assented with a small smile, suddenly feeling very tired.

_But please don't ask anything more than that please… I don't know what I'd do if I had to deal with that possibility right now._

"That, and perhaps that you allow me to call you Usagi sometimes, I really like that nickname too" Goku added with a playful grin, making her first tense and then glance at him in surprise.

The unusual request made Usagi laugh merrily.

"It was my actual name when I was reincarnated as your normal human girl…" she crossed her ankles and made a mock bow with her gown "Tsukino Usagi the First, mischievous and crybaby extraordinaire"

The warrior also laughed good naturedly at that.

"Yeah Luna told me all about that" he commented with his arms crossed behind him supporting his head "She told me it was also the name your little girl used when she traveled back in time? I can imagine the confusion that must've caused"

The second right after he spoke them, he deeply regretted those words, cause he saw the immediate effect those simple words had on the blonde Queen, who ceased laughing altogether, her eyes widening like she'd been slapped or thunderstruck, the blue and silver entwining in a watery dance as she bowed her head and her face was then hidden behind her bangs and entirely from his view, as the grieving woman hugged herself and crouched down, onto the ground.

Goku at the moment actually felt like shooting himself with a Ki blast for his carelessness.

"Usagi… I'm sorry…" he whispered, his shoulders slumping, using her nickname for the first time with her permission as he gazed down at her broken form with remorse.

When she failed to answer him he began to fear that she'd once again fall into her depression. However his eyes widened when a new thought crossed his mind and he closed his fists tight and instantly pulled himself together, frowning with a new resolution.

"Usagi…" he looked down at her again "would you be willing to return with me to the Eternal Realm?"

He watched as she froze and tilted her head upwards.

"Huh?"

Encouraged by this reaction, he continued.

"Usagi… If there's a way to restore destroyed souls back in one piece, then I'm sure that the Eternal Dragon known as the Great Ancient, Methatron, must know about it"

He felt that he wanted to see her happy, no matter the cost, and the consequences be damned. If the only way for her to come out of depression was to restore her loved ones' souls, then he was willing to dive back into the deepest pits of the Dragon Realm to get the answer.

Usagi's eyes trained slowly on his, afraid to dare hope.

"Ancient Dragon… Methatron?" she asked with doubt "But the Kais… I was with them right before I went to the Eternal Realm to ask for your release. Neither they nor Shenlong knew a way..."

"The Kais wouldn't know ´cause I am positive they've never even encountered a similar situation before" he answered with a frown "As for Shenlong, he's often stated himself he's relatively young compared to other dragons in the Eternal Realm, Usagi. Then it's not sure he'd be the most knowledgeable… whereas Methatron is so old, he's already a legend in the Dragon Realm. Shenlong often said that even though he is in a state of permanent sleep nowadays, he's existed for longer than any of them. They all regard his name as that of the very first Eternal Dragon…"

He crouched down next to her on the grass to grab her lightly by the shoulders.

"Usagi, this dragon, this dragon is older than Shenlong, older than the Kais… Hell, I'm sure he'd be older than even Chaos and the Cauldron!" he told her with intensity at his own discovery.

The blonde Queen couldn't help but contain her breath.

"And you think this dragon… will know a way to bring them back?" she asked hesitantly.

At this question his look saddened.

"I don't know if he'll be able to bring them back to life" he admitted "But I'm sure he'll know a way to restore their souls so they can at least exist again in Other World and be reincarnated some day… It's what he used to do, Usagi… Shenlong told me they not only call Methatron the 'Ancient', they also refer to him as the 'Caretaker of Souls', and that he's very different from all the other dragons."

When the golden haired woman bowed her head to once more have her face covered beneath her bangs, the Saiyan pulled her closer and continued talking in earnest.

"Usagi, please listen to me… It's rumored Methatron was the one entrusted with the creation and destruction of souls during the times of the Elder Gods, before the Cauldron was created. Heck, even the Kais know of this myth! The myth about the Dragon Soul Caretaker!"

He saw and heard her swallow deeply.

"I think… I _know_ that he'll be able to restore their souls, or tell us the way for us to do it ourselves; _I just do…_" he insisted firmly "I know it sounds like a myth, I know it's a legend, but the Eternal Dragons are different from us mortals… They're very ancient magical creatures and their legends, no matter how fantastic, are _always_ based on some actual truth… So it _is_ worth a shot! We _have_ to believe there's still a chance… If Methatron is still there, we will find him and we'll awaken him and find the answer!"

"And you…" she started to ask, the view of her face still hidden by her hair "you would do this, you'd go back to the realm that kept you imprisoned for a hundred years… just to help me verify whether this is true or not?"

Her tone showed awe and disbelief at what she was hearing, yet fear of unmasking the illusion and once again be crushed by the harsh reality.

The warrior bit his lip as his back straightened.

_If it was her well being that was at stake… _

"Yes" he nodded, gathering all his confidence for this purpose "I know a way to summon Shenlong without the dragonballs, though it will take some time… I'll do whatever it takes if it means we'll be able to bring the souls of your family back"

He was unprepared for her reaction this time, for she gasped loudly and lifted her head once more to lock her gaze with his, and this time it was the Saiyan's turn to gasp when he saw how much her eyes had changed, how different they had just turned from what he was used to see ever since the moment he met her.

It was like a terrible weight had finally been lifted from her; like her eyes had finally been able to let go of some of the unbearable sorrow that'd always cast a shadow upon them and upon her heart, and that she could finally breathe in some peace.

_Those eyes… those beautiful blue eyes…_

… _They seemed suddenly so full of life now…_

…_So filled with renewed hope._

'_They can be brought back? Oh God! Is it possible I can bring their souls back when I thought…?' _

She was crying, but he could clearly see that it was not from sadness… but from a great happiness. Her eyes were shinning brightly like never before and she was smiling, her cheeks rosy, and she seemed more alive now than she had been for the longest time.

Usagi giggled then, and Goku was amazed at the change that renewed hope operated in her.

_And he was happy for her…_

"Thank you!" she exclaimed as she threw herself at him with full force, giving him the tightest hug she could muster with the terrible strength of her thoroughly felt gratitude; her entire body wrecking into his and shaking in great sobs as her heart, mind and soul were revived and overcome with the most welcome hope and relief after the months, years of emotional torture she had gone through.

"_Oh God! …Thank you!"_

Goku, who'd been rendered speechless by the unexpected action, and whose eyes were still slightly wide, finally let his eyes soften as he smiled and reached around with his muscled arms to hug her trembling form back.

…_She was crying openly now, but the warmth of his embrace and the soothing motions of his hands on her back soon made her start to calm down, made the erratic spasms gradually start to subside… _

* * *

From her hide out behind a corner Luna raised a hand to wipe her teary eyes.

* * *

END TO THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER 

A/N: This was a rather difficult chapter. I hope it turned out alright. Anyway, in the next chapters you'll see that this renewal of hope was exactly what Usagi was needing to get back in business...

Please tell me your thoughts?

Jay.


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